the Argentina that translates Japanese architecture into a better life

Miabi Hatanaka is defined as nikkei (Japanese descendant, born outside Japan) third generation. Born and raised in La Plata, at the age of 27, she transformed her cultural heritage into a design philosophy and professional path that she today shares with more than 40,000 people through her Instagram account @miabidesign.

After a final project (TFC) on Japanese architecture and a scholarship in his grandparents’ countryMiabi returned to Argentina with the goal of “designing the best of both worlds.” In your opinion: Japanese spatial logic and local culture.

Miabi says his interest in Japanese architecture arose from a double search: the search for his own identity and the search to fill an academic gap. “I noticed this in college Lack of Japanese architecture. I wanted to go traditional and basic. “I was very surprised, I really enjoyed the research I was able to do.”

This exploration led her to apply for a scholarship that would allow her to do this Study and work in Japan for nine monthsin the same prefecture where his grandmother was born.

“I went to Japan when I had just graduated and worked on a study called Wakatake Urban Development Research Institute Co. Ltd. (若竹まちづくり研究所). They Do Huge projects, from museums to restoring 200-year-old houses“.

In the studio, located in the Kochi PrefectureHe worked on renovation projects (“They call it renovation,” he clarifies) and focused on the Respect for material and structural dissolution in a country with high seismic activity. It revealed a technical curiosity about the design tools used.

“I saw a lot of AutoCAD and thought they had a great interest in BIM, but it wasn’t that much. At least in this study they did a lot of work on a program called JW_cad (similar to AutoCAD in Japanese).”

During her stay, Miabi also took a subject at the Ryoma Design & Beauty College with the Sensei Matsuyamawho helped her decipher the complex concepts of traditional architecture.

He visited temples, tea houses and analyzed elements such as ma (the void or significant pause), the Wabi Sabi (the beauty of imperfection and the ephemeral) and the tokonama (a sacred space for displaying art or objects).

“Architecture should not be replicatedbecause it is completely linked to the way one lives and the specific culture. “What we can translate are the principles and the logic: the relationship with light, the way of organizing the void, the connection between inside and outside,” he explains.

When he returned to Argentina, he recognized the culture shock and the need to “Translate this complex and sensitive world into a closer language“This is how his network dissemination project was born, which aims to go beyond the merely aesthetic or fashionable.

“I’m much more looking for functional, conscious spaces. Japanese architecture offers that.” spatial clarity, order, modulations, a lot of careful handling of light and the real material. “It’s not this ‘let’s paint everything beige’ thing and say wabi sabi.”

For the architect Sustainability is not a trend in Japanbut a value deeply rooted in the culture. “Japanese architecture, both traditional and contemporary, is super sustainable. They use a lot of wood, earth and paper. They have that.” a conscious philosophy of respect for the material that maybe we don’t have that much here.”

Miabi emphasizes this The key is to adapt, not imitate. And as for the keys, it shows in its networks some concepts that can be applied to life in Argentina.

He explains that some design elements that are fundamental in Japan have a pAdaptation potential great for local customs, Improving the quality of life and spatial order.

For example this Genkan. It is a transitional space between the outside and the inside, where shoes are removed before entering the house, “a custom that COVID has accelerated in the West,” and for Miabi it is a perfectly customizable ordering and cleaning module to our country.

He Engawa It is a kind of gallery or corridor that surrounds the house and acts as… Area that buffers the relationship between interior and garden or space. “It’s very similar to a gallery, but it has its magic. In Japan, sitting on the floor is very common. I feel like they’re small concepts that can be adapted to our culture.”

Miabi also values ​​values ​​and one of them in particular: respect. “It is the greatest value they have and you can see that in the way the country and the culture works. Respect for yourself, for time, for words, for elders, for the planet, for nature.”

Miabi Hatanaka’s experience is reflected in a strong professional belief: architecture is not just about making dreams come true, but “improve people’s quality of life“through decisions, whether urban or small interventions in space.

“The experience confirmed for me that I wanted to continue my education in this area and develop my vision, but be ArgentinianFrom here we understand how we live here and how they live there.”

His goal is clear: to show that through “interpret and not imitate“Japanese principles (respect for materiality, the logic of mutation and the organization of emptiness) are possible.” Enrich Argentine architectural history. Her mission as a Nikkei architect is to build a cultural and functional bridge to create a more conscious living space on this side of the planet.