Gardens and landscapes
In Japan, gardens express a complex tradition and philosophy.
It would be hazardous to try to reproduce that. We are, however, able to access some of its meanings : the symbolic representation of the world. It is symbolic due to the change of scale, and real due to the presence of real trees, real rocks. These are made sacred within well-defined, inaccessible perimeters. In some places, the ocean is represented by an expanse of water, in other places by an expanse of gravel shaped into waves.
We avoid this type of scaling down due to the complexity of the techniques involved. What we do retain in our approach are the small landscaped areas, growing inside houses. Another principle we adopt is that you can only run across these with your eyes.
We make sure these are matched with the appropriate framing, as part of the ambulatory sequence. The large areas in the outdoor gardens are arranged so as to be seen from the living room, or the bed in the bedroom. Through photographic studies of distant views - mountains or ocean - we can locate the exact place to create an opening in the walls, so as to get the most favourable view of the surrounding landscape.