RELEVANT OBJECT
ARCHITECTURE
A philosophy about space and light anchored by a collection of Poul Kjærholm furniture defines an early modernist house in Kyoto.
4.38PM, KYOTO. A streak of sunlight, slipping through vintage glass and a gap in paper screens, ripples like water on an earthen wall. Hanging next to it is a minimalist print, its composition sharpened by two angular lines. Sitting lightly on tatami just in front is one of the rarest chairs ever made by the Danish master of modernism Poul Kjærholm. Its raw aluminium form crafted in the 1950s is embryonic, strong and organic, hovering with architectural precision on the measured geometry of its three legs. And for a passing moment, as light dances onto the back wall, the chair anchors a silent dialogue between objects and space, humans and nature – before the room dims and the sun moves on, for one more day. This fleeting interplay between light, design and space hints at the essence of Kita-tei (also known as the Kita Residence), a unique family home and gallery with a momiji maple-filled garden, set along the quiet flow of the Shirakawa River in a mountain-wrapped corner of northeast Kyoto. The house is deeply entwined with Kyoto’s 20th- century architectural heritage. It was designed in 1926 by Koji Fujii, a pioneer of Japanese modernism, one of the first to progressively blend Western technology and aesthetics (lighting, electricity, natural air flow) into traditional homes, shaping the future trajectory of the nation’s modern vernacular.
Today, Kita-tei is in the throes of a new creative chapter: it is home to Relevant Object, a gallery created by collectors American William Deuel, a former watch-industry veteran, and his Japanese graphic designer wife Chisa.
The gallery focuses in particular on the elemental creations of Poul Kjærholm, with around 40 pieces by the progressive Danish furniture designer, many from his 1950s and 1960s PK Series, from low-lying stone tables on light architectural bases to countless chairs blending minimalist frames with a natural material palette (leather, canvas, cane, patinated parchment).
“Ultimately we are trying to create a dialogue between the environment, the architecture and the things we place within them,” explains Deuel. “Not everything is Nordic. We found that Nakashima has the same mentality as Kjærholm, so we feel it all goes well together. Whether it’s a chair or a painting, we are simply interested in exceptional things that push the limits of what is expected.”
Deuel’s intimacy with the house is reflected in his acute sensitivity to the micro-shifts of light in space, season-by-season, minute-by-minute. Our conversational flow is regularly scattered by the beauty of sunlight, as it briefly engages, flickering and fleeting, with objects and architecture alike.
Read the full Living Architecture feature in Volume XIII.
WORDS DANIELLE DEMETRIOU
PHOTOGRAPHY TARO MIZUTANI
design /delight: A PLATFORM FOR CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
During Shanghai Art Week, the city’s cultural landscape was shaped by the second edition of design /delight, an emerging platform dedicated to contemporary collectible design and functional art.
SPATIAL GESTURES
The wearable objects Yuta Ishihara makes under the moniker Shihara play tricks on us. “The hardware is in focus, incorporated into the design itself,” says Ishihara.
LAKE COME DESIGN FESTIVAL 2025
The city of Como once again hosted the seventh edition of the Lake Como Design Festival, under the theme Fragments. The festival invited visitors to reflect on fragmentation not as a sign of rupture, but as a catalyst for creative rebirth, for the preservation of memory, and for a regenerative approach to design.
RELEVANT OBJECT
ARCHITECTURE
A philosophy about space and light anchored by a collection of Poul Kjærholm furniture defines an early modernist house in Kyoto.
4.38PM, KYOTO. A streak of sunlight, slipping through vintage glass and a gap in paper screens, ripples like water on an earthen wall. Hanging next to it is a minimalist print, its composition sharpened by two angular lines. Sitting lightly on tatami just in front is one of the rarest chairs ever made by the Danish master of modernism Poul Kjærholm. Its raw aluminium form crafted in the 1950s is embryonic, strong and organic, hovering with architectural precision on the measured geometry of its three legs. And for a passing moment, as light dances onto the back wall, the chair anchors a silent dialogue between objects and space, humans and nature – before the room dims and the sun moves on, for one more day. This fleeting interplay between light, design and space hints at the essence of Kita-tei (also known as the Kita Residence), a unique family home and gallery with a momiji maple-filled garden, set along the quiet flow of the Shirakawa River in a mountain-wrapped corner of northeast Kyoto. The house is deeply entwined with Kyoto’s 20th- century architectural heritage. It was designed in 1926 by Koji Fujii, a pioneer of Japanese modernism, one of the first to progressively blend Western technology and aesthetics (lighting, electricity, natural air flow) into traditional homes, shaping the future trajectory of the nation’s modern vernacular.
Today, Kita-tei is in the throes of a new creative chapter: it is home to Relevant Object, a gallery created by collectors American William Deuel, a former watch-industry veteran, and his Japanese graphic designer wife Chisa.
The gallery focuses in particular on the elemental creations of Poul Kjærholm, with around 40 pieces by the progressive Danish furniture designer, many from his 1950s and 1960s PK Series, from low-lying stone tables on light architectural bases to countless chairs blending minimalist frames with a natural material palette (leather, canvas, cane, patinated parchment).
“Ultimately we are trying to create a dialogue between the environment, the architecture and the things we place within them,” explains Deuel. “Not everything is Nordic. We found that Nakashima has the same mentality as Kjærholm, so we feel it all goes well together. Whether it’s a chair or a painting, we are simply interested in exceptional things that push the limits of what is expected.”
Deuel’s intimacy with the house is reflected in his acute sensitivity to the micro-shifts of light in space, season-by-season, minute-by-minute. Our conversational flow is regularly scattered by the beauty of sunlight, as it briefly engages, flickering and fleeting, with objects and architecture alike.
Read the full Living Architecture feature in Volume XIII.
WORDS Danielle Demetriou
PHOTOGRAPHY Taro Mizutani