Several years ago I visited a bookshop in western Massachusetts and happened upon a book called Form and Space in Japanese Architecture. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the houses and temples pictured in the book, and stunned by their simplicity and grace. It is as if these architects have a secret knowledge of beauty distilled down to its most basic elements.
A torii gate (or arch) is typically found at the entrance to a Shinto shrine. The gate at the Miyajima shrine stands in the water, as do all of the platforms and buildings of this shrine, such that they appear to float in space. This torii provided me with the basic form for the wall cabinet and I decided to incorporate shoji screens to soften the separation between inside and outside.
