Bronze Architecture · 2026
Stilleness Guest House
by Sohei Obata
- Bronze A' Design Award 2026 in Architecture
- CLIENT: Advance Architect Co.,Ltd
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 6,407
- Verification code 10841CE820 · Verify this award
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About Stilleness Guest House
Stilleness is a three-story guest house built on a very small plot in central Osaka, Japan. Living spaces are placed on the upper floors, while the ground floor holds a garage. Traditional Japanese features are reinterpreted through exterior tiles that resemble roof tiles, latticework and a central courtyard garden. A Goemon bath and an alcove are combined with modern facilities. The steel frame structure meets urban fire and earthquake requirements. The courtyard allows greenery to be seen from every floor, so the narrow site gains a sense of depth and calm.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Stilleness Guest House is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Stilleness Guest House is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Stilleness Guest House splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This three-story guesthouse makes the most of the limited space in the city center. Based on the theme of "tranquility in a modern city," it incorporates reinterpretations of traditional Japanese designs, such as exterior tiles resembling roof tiles, latticework, and a courtyard garden. More than just accommodation, it offers a unique and profound sense of spiritual fulfillment by blending ancient Japanese lifestyle culture, such as a Goemon bath and an alcove, with modern design.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Site area: 76.55 Size: 135.71 Structure: Steel Floor: 3 While employing a steel frame construction that meets urban fire and earthquake resistance standards, the design incorporates traditional materials reproduced with modern technology in the form of roof tiles on the exterior walls. By optimizing the plumbing within the limited area and achieving a sophisticated spatial layout that balances views of the courtyard with privacy, a comfortable stay is ensured.
- Tags
- Guest House, Residence, Architecture
- Production Technology
- Despite the limited plot size, the design emphasizes "visual expansion." The space is structured around the landscaping of the courtyard, ensuring that greenery can be felt from every floor. The pathway from the small courtyard to the entrance hall with its alcove recreates the experience of a "roji" (alleyway) leading to a tea room. In addition to functionality, delicate textures are added with lattices and tiles, creating a balanced combination of hard and soft elements.
- Design Challenge
- The challenge was to pack a courtyard and authentic Japanese design elements into a limited, extremely small plot of land while ensuring functionality to accommodate a large number of guests. Within the constraints of legal regulations and structural limitations, we struggled to transform the "narrowness" into the Japanese aesthetic of "depth." The most difficult and creative process was considering the details to harmonize the traditional Goemon bath and courtyard with modern facilities.
- Research
- This project focuses on the research theme of "preserving tradition in small-scale urban architecture." Through the behavior and reactions of guests (especially foreigners), we will examine the healing effect of Japanese spatial beauty on today's stressful society. This design demonstrates that even in urban areas lacking historical resources, ingenuity in design can create a hub for cultural dissemination, presenting a new model for regional economic revitalization and cultural preservation.
- Inspiration
- The motivation was "spiritual immersion amidst the hustle and bustle." We wanted to create a sophisticated, otherworldly space where visitors could enjoy the conveniences of the city while stepping inside and experiencing the Japanese aesthetic of "wabi-sabi." We aimed to help busy modern travelers understand Japanese life on a visceral level by allowing them to experience the unique senses of "shadow" and "space" characteristic of Japanese architecture through the use of materials and lighting.
- Project Duration
- The project was completed in Osaka, Japan in March 2026
- Operation Flow
- The first floor is primarily used as a garage. Living spaces are located on the second floor and above, with rooms arranged in a continuous flow. Wide passageways are provided between each building to allow large vehicles to move around the property, and terraces are provided for residents to gather and foster a sense of community. High walls and a heavy gate surround the perimeter to enhance security.
- Patents
- Copyrights
- Image Credits
- Yu Kato, Way Co.,Ltd
