I IN designs light-filled Kamakura beach house to make most of ocean view

Tokyo studio I IN has renovated Lulla House, a holiday home overlooking the ocean in Kamakura, Japan, creating "a space where the beauty of the view becomes a collective experience".

Located about an hour and a half from central Tokyo, Lulla House was designed for a client who has a fashion brand.

The brief saw I IN transform a former office and residential building into a holiday home that can also be used as a showroom for the owner's label.

The studio, which was founded by Yohei Terui and Hiromu Yuyama, focused on creating a home that celebrates the striking location.

"Facing the open sea, the architecture responds by framing the landscape with the largest possible windows," Yuyama told Dezeen.

"The intention was to allow visitors to experience the scenery not only visually, but physically and emotionally."

I IN retained the building's existing steel structure but reconstructed all of its walls, both externally and internally. The studio also drew on its seaside location by adding nautical details.

"Rattan was used throughout the architecture, inspired by the image of sea breeze passing gently through the building," Yuyama said.

"Its permeability to air and light creates a soft atmosphere," Yuyama continued.

"The ropes on the exterior are connected to the idea of fashion and garment-making – rather than constructing everything with hard materials, we wanted to introduce textile-like elements reminiscent of fabric and thread, exploring a design that takes advantage of their softness and flexibility."

Set over three floors, each measuring 82.5 square metres, the interior features custom-made furniture by I IN that will also be sold by the fashion brand.

The studio prioritises creating custom furniture for its projects whenever possible.

"In this project, we had enough time, and the owner also wished to introduce and sell the furniture through their own brand," Yuyama explained.

"Rather than creating a strict series, we aimed for each piece to have its own character while resonating with the others throughout the house."

The pieces designed by I IN include wooden tables with a brushed finish to create a more tactile texture and kitchen and closet doors made from rattan, which double as decorative screens when closed.

At the centre of the house, I IN placed a sculptural spiral staircase that functions as a focal point, with its pale white hue contrasting against the warm wood used for the walls and furniture.

On the first floor, a titanium volume divides the living room from the kitchen section and opens out onto the home's terrace.

The second floor houses the bedrooms. When visitors enter this floor, they are met by an open closet placed at the house's core to symbolise "the centrality of dressing in one's lifestyle," I IN said.

This level also holds a striking open bathroom that overlooks the ocean with decorative pale-pink tiles with lime-coloured grout, inspired by the owner's apparel-design background.

"The client is the designer of an apparel brand whose key colour is pink, so touches of pink appear throughout the interior," Yuyama said.

"In the bathroom, custom pink tiles made from sand sourced in Japan are paired with lime-yellow grout – treating the tiles like fabric and the grout like thread, expressing a fashion-inspired sensibility."

Overall, the designers hoped to create a space where the owner can both live and display their brand, while taking full advantage of the beautiful surroundings.

"The house was conceived as a place where many people can share and experience the extraordinary landscape," Yuyama concluded. "The intention was to create a space where the beauty of the view becomes a collective experience."

Other recent projects by I IN include a lounge space in Ginza drenched in Edo purple and a coffee shop interior that references historic stone gates.

The photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.

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