I wanted to finish off the week by profiling a recently completed home designed by Tomoko Taguchi Architects. By the way, it’s nice to see a woman’s perspective in the largely male-dominant profession of architecture, especially in Japan.

TRAPEZIUM was designed for a young couple who had 2 requests, a performance hall where their musician friends could perform, and to be able to leave their curtains open without worrying about neighbors peering in. To a certain degree the 2 requests work against each when the objective is to create a welcoming environment where many people are free to come and go, while maintaining a level of privacy. However, I think the architect succeeded immensely in marrying the two.

Taguchi also managed to incorporate her own holistic approach to architecture. She believes that the intrinsic value of a home should not be assessed mainly by square footage or the number of bedrooms, but how much sunlight it lets in, or the cross-ventilation, or the view; aspects that ultimately amount to your quality of life within the home.

The editors over at ElleDeco Japan got the royal treatment when they were allowed a sneak peak at some of Moma Design Store’s Autumn releases. One product in particular caught my eye immediately and that was this clever set of espresso cups with interlocking bamboo coasters. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out who designed it. Any idea? Anyone?

The 1 clue I have is that it won an award in a student design contest.

UPDATE: thanks to commenter Cl. we found out that it was designed by Fellina Sok-Cham. Yay!