Paris, France: Pavilion MIWA interior construction

I was contacted by architect Fumihiko Sano, a colleague of mine from Nakamura Toji Construction, who was looking for a craftsman for a job he was doing in Paris. French architecture is made of stone, unlike Japanese wooden architecture. It was a fearless plan to install wooden parts into the all-stone space based on a single drawing. The time available for processing in Japan was limited, so I relied solely on my curiosity and experience to process the products and transport them by sea. Cypress has never been exported as a building material, and in France it had to be registered as a species. It took a month and a half for the ship to arrive. There were many things I didn't know about, as I didn't have time to replace the materials if mold developed during transportation, but I was relieved that the materials arrived in Paris in the same condition as when I had sent them. The construction period in France is 90 days. I couldn't catch a cold, I couldn't get injured, I couldn't forgive a single mistake, and the days were full of anticipation and anxiety. The interior of the store, which was successfully completed, is made entirely of Japanese cypress. For the cypress, we used Tono cypress, which is found in the Jingu Binrin area of the Geku of Ise Grand Shrine. We were able to welcome customers in a luxurious space, and the scent of cypress made it a place where they could feel refreshed.

Business: Interior construction

​Location: Paris, France

Construction: Sagara Construction Office

Completion: October 2012