Uemachi Laboratory is an interior design office located in Hyogo Prefecture, Osaka, Japan. It was founded by founder Mitsumasa Sadakata in 1998. Mitsumasa Sadakata was born in 1970 in Yamaguchi, Japan. He graduated from the Department of Architecture at Kobe University in 1992.

In this open class, the founder, Mr. Mitsumasa Sadakata, elaborated on their design philosophy by describing a series of projects of the studio. Mr. Mitsumasa Sadakata shared that during his studies in school, what they studied the most is modern Western style architecture, but after graduation, he gradually became attracted by traditional Japanese architectural concepts and resonated with them. He believes that once the design is completed, it will accompany people in the space for a quite long time, so universality and value preservation should be always considered, and design should not follow trends and temporary preferences.

Yinjispace：How to do residential design in high-rise residential buildings (without courtyards) in cities?

Uemachi Laboratory：As we all know, high-rise residential buildings rarely have courtyards, and the outside is mostly a city street view. If the city scenery outside is pleasant, it should be seen by the people living inside; If the nearby scenery is not beautiful, then don't limit your sight to the nearby environment, but see things further away, such as mountains or the sea. The unattractive scenery nearby could be removed through design, leaving only the distant scenery above. I think this is also a way to guide the line of sight.

Yinjispace：Are you designing the courtyard yourself or collaborating with a professional courtyard team? How to find a balance between the materials of the courtyard and the interior materials?

Uemachi Laboratory：When I consider landscapes, such as walls, which are relatively hard, I design them myself; But I will collaborate with a professional landscape company to complete the trees or decorative stone walls used for landscaping. As for the material outside and inside the house, it is necessary to try not to have too much difference, and it is better to continuously appreciate the appearance; If the inside and outside are in two styles, I personally don't apply it.

Yinjispace：What are the other ways to create a sense of rhythm in space besides the form of hanging wood materials?

Uemachi Laboratory：I have used a lot of hanging wood structures, but other methods would be used sometimes. For example, using wood of 30mm and arranging it finely at the distance of about 20mm, and then placing lighting of about 30mm, then it is not easy to find the lights. Sometimes, I would design like this in order to make the ceiling less monotonous, .

Yinjispace：How is the relationship between courtyard and architecture determined during the plan concept phase?

Uemachi Laboratory：Firstly, when designing the floor plan, functional requirements must be taken into consideration. For example, a residence needs to have a living room and a restaurant, as well as several single rooms; Based on these conditions, we should first organize the functional conditions of the building before proceeding with the design. Although we also need to consider the appearance, we basically did not think of landscape design in the initial design stage. In addition, I generally do not allow my designed residence to have an overlapping line of sight with nearby buildings. Therefore, I need to consider where to open the door and how high the door is in order to achieve a unique line of sight, based on these considerations, I will determine the location of the room, and so on.

Yinjispace：Can you recommend some design books?

Uemachi Laboratory：There are many good design books, so it's difficult for me to decide which one is most recommended. But what I have been reading recently is the works of an Australian architect named Kerry Hill, whose portfolio is very good.