Articles by Hana Abdel

The Nikotama Terrace is a cooperative house located on the hillside of the Kokubunji cliff line that runs from Futakotamagawa to Kinuta. The site faces the slope called “Mamushizawa”, which used to be a valley, and is protected by the cliff line ordinance. It is a green place, like a mountain, surrounded by native species of the Musashino Plateau. There is also a large retaining wall on the site to eliminate the height difference. The main concern was how to confront this retaining wall and the building while making the best use of the height difference in the surrounding area? The design answer came as a row house (10 dwelling units) with a green valley.

‘Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu’ is the first special tourist zone designated in Seoul back in 1997. The army base in Yongsan used to be occupied by the Japanese Army until the US Army took over after the national liberation of Korea. Afterward, small stores and bars targeting American soldiers opened and the military camp town emerged, turning the place into an amusement district for US soldiers. The urbanization of the area into a community of American soldiers and related foreigners continued. Itaewon became known to the world after various international conferences and events, including the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, were held in the 1980s. It turned into a tourist attraction visited by tourists from all countries including Japan. The former Capital Hotel, which opened in 1988, took this tourism demand into account when it opened and included various entertainment facilities, such as a nightclub, karaoke, and sauna. The 30 or more years were long enough for demands to grow for a variety of changes in the hotel’s business structure and zoning system regarding the changes that have taken place in the culture of the Itaewon region, where the hotel is located.

The KUGENUMA-Y House is located close to the sea in Shonan. It is a house with a simple structure, including a 5-storey Raw Concrete and steel mesh frame and a 6-storey steel slope of 150 m full length. 

Teahouse Lemon is one of the Fujiyoshida City Honcho-dori Avenue Revitalization Projects.

The house is designed by the Japanese architect Shota Nakanishi and the structural architect Hirofumi Ohno in Japan. The site is a residential area in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, in the Hokuriku region. The Hokuriku region has the rainiest days of any region in Japan.

Richmond House is a three-bedroom home with artist studio. The design came out of a conversation with the client who appreciated the spectacular views from this site but specifically did not want a simplified endless sweeping view. There was an opportunity to direct and frame views from specific rooms.

The site is located on the border between an old town and a new residential area. The roofs of the surrounding old houses are covered with Sekishu tiles, known for their unique reddish-brown color, forming a landscape typical of a village in the San-in region, but not seen in the new residential area. Fascinated by the Sekishu tiles, we proposed a house that blends the boundary between the two areas with the theme of a roof that maximizes the appeal of these tiles.