Atami House is a minimalist residence located in Atami, Japan, designed by NOFORMA. The renovation of a traditional Japanese home perched on a coastal hillside, the project began with a discovery that redirected its entire design narrative. Hidden above a false ceiling, a set of beautifully aged natural timber beams emerged during a structural assessment – elements that NOFORMA recognized as the building’s forgotten core, and the bridge between its historical identity and its new life as a contemporary retreat.
Atami sits along the historical Tokaido, the ancient route connecting Edo and Kyoto, just forty minutes by bullet train from Tokyo. The town’s name translates to hot ocean, a reference to the thermal springs that rise from the seabed beneath it. NOFORMA preserved the house’s existing connection to onsen water, treating the bathing space as a defining element rather than a secondary amenity. A hinoki sauna sits adjacent to the bathroom and onsen on the ground floor, forming a continuous sequence of spaces dedicated to water and warmth that draws directly from the region’s geological character.
The second floor, where arrival occurs, opens immediately into the primary living space. NOFORMA removed the original layout of small tatami rooms divided by shoji screens and replaced it with a single open volume where the exposed roof beams now preside overhead. A sunken hori-kotatsu anchors one corner, positioned to maximize views toward the ocean while creating an intimate gathering point within the larger room. The kitchen island, dining area, and living space remain in continuous visual dialogue, furnished with pieces crafted by local artisans from Japanese ash. Rattan louver partitions and preserved original shoji doors move on tracks concealed within the walls, allowing the floor plan to shift between open entertaining and enclosed privacy.
The ground floor functions as a private sanctuary. The master bedroom can be subdivided into two en-suite rooms or opened into a single flexible space suited for exercise, film screenings, or quiet work. Both bedrooms open directly onto a garden deck, and the long glazed ground floor operates as an engawa – a threshold condition that belongs to neither inside nor outside, yet functions as both. NOFORMA chose to leave the exterior largely untouched, introducing only a few carefully placed window openings to maintain the building’s relationship with its hillside neighbors while directing new sight lines toward the ocean.
