All architecture is a dance between the public and the private. The things we choose to show, and the things we keep to ourselves – usually quite telling. Among the small streets of Osaka, things that happen on street level are usually of the public’s interest, and therefore the public’s business. Jonoya by Masakazu Tsujibayashi creates a rich inner world, one that stays relatively hidden, an oasis among the dense urban sprawl.

Inside, interiors are bathed in warm wood, an ode to the natural undulations and growth patterns divined by nature. Large skylights add a beautiful brilliance to the wood, catching the confluence of chatoyance and sun. Wood slat floors retain a sense of loftiness to the top floors, a treehouse that somehow exists within the trunk.

Corners that would otherwise be quite unapproachable become places of visual interest – windows are situated close to the floor, with a generous skylight directly above. A curious and delightful upending of traditional placement carries throughout the house, providing more instances for a changing of perspective throughout the everyday. This philosophy could carry far past the built environment, to introduce new ways of thinking to far corners of the mind. Storage is plentiful on the top floors, offering a density of knowledge and reflection, a library of life.

This grand staircase is the axis on which Jonoya House turns – bathed in light, and accented by an almost completely mirrored wall, the staircase echoes the simplicity and clear craftsmanship that extends throughout the project. Joinery is visible and celebrated, a nod to the ancient technologies that have allowed brilliant architecture to take place.

Generous curvatures keep the interiors warm and approachable among more technical design language. A long table signals an invitation to host, an easy eventuality when there’s room for all.

The simple facade belies the depth of interiority underneath, light and privacy two central tenets of the design. No window at waist height, and many corners below a traditional right angle, Jonoya House offers a novel space to create and work, but mosy importantly, relax and live.

To learn more about Jonoya House and the work of Masakazu Tsujibayashi, visit instagram.com.

Photography by Yosuke Ohtake.

Milan Design Week is particularly good for one thing: holistically imagined installations that when conceived well demonstrate the potential use of new products. Where these go wrong is in simply mounting loosely defined, marketing ploy, stylized backdrops for an endless onslaught of replicative social media moments.

Falling squarely in the first category are Danish electronics producer Bang & Olufsen (B&O) and Italian premium stone purveyor Antolini. The seemingly disparate yet complimentary brands have joined forces to mount a fully sensorial Milan Design Week installation playing up the opportune coherence of immaterial sound with emphatically material stone, presented in a recreated natural setting brought indoors: Antolini’s centrally located Duomo Stoneroom.

The fully sensorial showcase demonstrates both brand’s capacity, with new and refreshed product ranges cleverly paired together—more explicitly suggesting potential applications. B&O’s new Beosound Haven outdoor speaker anchors on and cuts through slabs of Antolini’s mat-finish Taj Mahal quartzite.

Surrounding these totemic combines are tastefully manicured zen gardens; a contextualized, if slightly fantastical evocation of where both device and material might live. At the center, there is a pool of water with a cascade of droplets falling from above.

“Design at Bang & Olufsen has always been about understanding the relationship between technology, materials, and the spaces people inhabit,” says Kresten Bjørn Krab-Bjerre, Senior Director of Design. “Through Beosound Haven – our forthcoming landscape speaker – we explore sound as an architectural language. It interacts with materials and forms atmosphere, creating a refined sense of place that is both subtle and powerful. It reflects our ambition to find new ways for sound to enrich the experience – not only as something you hear, but as something you truly feel.”

The collaboration extends to a limited run of the Beolab 18 speaker, produced using Antolini’s comprehensive range of natural stone products in matte finish: Amazonite, Retro Black Petrified Wood, Patagonia Original, Dalmata, and Cipollino Grey Wave, as well as Taj Mahal. “In collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, we have moved beyond traditional design to embrace the open air,” Carlo Alberto Antolini, owner of Antolini. “By blending the raw elegance of natural stone with precision sound, we’ve created a bridge between nature and technology. These landscape speakers are not just objects, they are a dialogue between the elements, transforming gardens and terraces into living galleries.”

To learn more about the Beosound Haven by Bang & Olufsen in collaboration with Antolini, visit bang-olufsen.com.

Photography by Max Zambelli.

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