{"id":197613,"date":"2022-06-09T17:36:30","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T21:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=197613"},"modified":"2022-11-30T12:13:46","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T17:13:46","slug":"owiu-resuscitates-an-l-a-mid-century-modern-home","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/owiu-resuscitates-an-l-a-mid-century-modern-home\/","title":{"rendered":"OWIU Resuscitates an L.A. Mid-Century Modern Home Drawing on the Japanese Ryokan Aesthetic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"Working
Working with friend and vintage furniture collector Jullie Nguyen from Ban Ban Studio, OWIU sourced original vintage items including George Nelson pendant fixtures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

June 9, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Nicholas Tamarin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Justin Chung<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

OWIU Resuscitates an L.A. Mid-Century Modern Home Drawing on the Japanese Ryokan Aesthetic<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Dating to the eighth\u00a0century Keiun period,\u00a0ryokan<\/em>\u00a0are Japan\u2019s ancient answer to America\u2019s bed-and-breakfast except with tatami mats, communal baths, and more kimonos. OWIU<\/a>\u2014the architecture firm co-founded by Singapore-raised Joel Wong and Amanda Gunawan in 2018\u2014channeled those elements in its latest project, a neglected 1955 home set in the foothills of Mount Washington, an emerging neighborhood adjacent to the trendy Echo Park and Silver Lake districts known for Mid-Century Modern architecture and Craftsman houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Gunawan and Wong, known for infusing L.A.\u2019s landscape with its signature Japanese-inspired design ethos starting with the acclaimed Biscuit Loft in the city’s former Nabisco building, the promise of subtlety and\u00a0neutrality\u00a0are core to their design approach. Neutrality is a vehicle for harmony, considering every detail in order to maintain an energetic balance, and then leaving just enough room for authorship. \u201cIt is collaborative design in the truest sense, egoless in its inclusion of the many hands that manifest a vision and then an almost Buddhist act in letting it go,\u201d Wong elaborates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lamps
Lamps throughout are by Isamu Noguchi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Subtle steps between rooms, symbolic textural differences, and plays on transparency mimic separation without interrupting the lines of space. \u201cThe openness was intentional. To be able to demarcate a space without using a wall is important to us,\u201d Gunawan says \u201cThe whole house needs to flow in synchronicity. It\u2019s action-oriented and makes you aware of the changes in space, whether you mentally register that or not, your body feels the transition.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon entering, the eye is directed towards the substantial garden through floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a backdrop of palm trees and the distant skyline. \u201cWe were drawn to the home\u2019s seclusion from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles,\u201d Wong continues. The outdoor deck takes into consideration the plot\u2019s topography, using interweaving curves sculpted from the land to create harmony with nature. Every surface, inside and out, is painted to reflect the landscape, from terra-cotta to beige, and the foyer is finished in Venetian plaster, bringing the delicate texture of the surrounding mountains into the home. Including copious reclaimed wood, OWIU preserved any elements that could be used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"OWIU
OWIU built an elevated deck from the main bedroom, evoking a platform in a Zen garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OWIU playfully integrates glass privacy blocks\u2014a quintessential Mid-Century Modern design element that is slowly becoming extinct. Often misassigned to a period of garish flash from the 1980s, Gunawan is seeking to restore the material to its original glamour and refigure what might otherwise be considered obsolete. \u201cWe found the material to be highly versatile and intriguing; not only does it possess structural integrity, but it also allows light to enter,\u201d she explains. OWIU uses the glass blocks for a wall between the bathroom and main living area, achieving privacy without obstructing flow. The blocks are also used as the base of the impressive bean-shaped kitchen counter, allowing the fixture to seemingly float.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by the tea ceremony rooms common to ryokan<\/em>, OWIU built an elevated deck from the main bedroom, evoking a platform in a Zen garden that reflects the change of space, easing the home dweller into nature. The action is so unassuming and unaggressive that one might forget this step after the routine of living, but this is precisely the goal: a ritualized transition into calming spaces. The step-down leads, almost imperceptibly, into the garden. \u201cWe wanted the inhabitants of the [main] bedroom to have a space they could escape to, one that promotes stillness and contemplation,\u201d Gunawan concludes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Working
Working with friend and vintage furniture collector Jullie Nguyen from Ban Ban Studio, OWIU sourced original vintage items including George Nelson pendant fixtures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"OWIU
OWIU playfully integrates glass privacy blocks as the base of the bean-shaped kitchen counter, allowing the fixture to seemingly float.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The 1980\u2019s six-piece modular sofa is by Vladimir Kagan for Preview while the coffee table is Bernard Vuarnesson’s Hexa for Bellato.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n