The Umbrella House, a celebrated wooden residence designed by architect Kazuo Shinohara originally in 1961, was relocated and preserved by Vitra in 2022. For this restoration project, we were honored to reissue the Nasukon (deep aubergine–colored, traditional Japanese hue) Dantsu rug that we originally produced for the house’s completion in 1961.

UMBRELLA HOUSE

PROJECT
Location: Hayamiya, Nerima Ward, Tokyo, Japan, relocated to Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, Germany in 2022
Architect: Kazuo Shinohara
Structural engineer: Kazuhide Tsuge
Furniture design: Kazuo Shinohara, Katsuhiko Shiraishi
Artworks: Setsu Asakura
Contractor: Watanabe Architectural Contractors
Structure: Timber
Furniture manufacturers: Soken-sha, Aoshima Shoten, Tendo Mokko Furniture Co.

RECONSTRUCTION TEAM TOKYO TECH
Architectural direction: Prof. Shin-ichi Okuyama
Project architect: Research Associate Masaru Otsuka; assisted by Koshiro Ogura and Yutaro Honshuku
Heritage consultant: Heritage Houses Trust and Prof. David B. Stewart, Tokyo, Japan
Structural engineering consultant: Yoshiharu Kanebako, Kanebako Structural Engineers
Surveying and conservation: Prof. Taisuke Yamazaki; assisted by Naoto Kizu
Dismantling and repair: Hidemitsu Ogura and Yusuke Fachita, Fukki Construction, Tokyo, Japan

RECONSTRUCTION TEAM VITRA
Reconstruction co-architects: Christian Dehli, Andrea Grolimund, DEHLI GROLIMUND, Zurich, Switzerland
Site project manager: Christian Germadnik, Logad GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany

COMPANIES INVOLVED IN RECONSTRUCTION
Builder: Binder & Blum GmbH, Schopfheim, Germany
Carpenters: Fukki Construction, Tokyo, Japan; Zimmerer Vogt GmbH, Lörrach, Germany
Cabinet maker: Schreinerei Volker Bäuchle, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Roofer: Rathgeber GmbH, Efringen-Kirchen, Germany
Plumber: Wolfgang Armbruster GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Painters: Die Malermeister Beckert GmbH, Lörrach, Germany; assisted by Giulia Pessi Maleratelier GmbH, Basel, Switzerland
Gardener: Else, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Electrician: Vitra Services GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Restoration funaoshi: Hiratate Hyogu Maker, Tokyo, Japan
Replica Shoji and window frames: Nishijima Tategu Maker, Tokyo, Japan

INTERIOR FINISHES
Silk wallpaper: Erimo Industries Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan
Tatami: Morita tatami mat maker, Tokyo, Japan
Tiles: Tajimi Custom Tiles, Tajimi, Japan; assisted by David Glättli, Zurich, Switzerland

CUSTOM FURNITURE
Replica furniture: Schreinerei Wolfgang Funfgeld, Müllheim, Germany; upholstered by Modo GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Furniture restoration: Eike von Hirschhausen, Zell im Wiesental, Germany
Dining chairs: Jasper Morrison, customized HAL Ply, Vitra, Germany, 2012/22

LIGHTING
Replica ceiling lamp: Miura Shomei Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan
Pendant lamps: Mogens Koch, Le Klint 105 large paper, Le Klint, Denmark, 1945

ACCESSORIES
Bamboo screen: Suzumatsu Shoten Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Carpet: Oriental Carpet Mills Ltd., Yamagata, Japan
Ikebana: Suzue Rother-Nakaya, Gebenstorf, Switzerland; assisted by Chaoyu Du, Zurich, Switzerland

Photo credit: *KAZUO SHINOHARA: THE UMBRELLA HOUSE PROJECT*
by Christian Dehli and Andrea Grolimund, published by Vitra Design Museum, 2023

Photos 1–3: Damian Poffet
Photos 4–6: Osamu Murai