Uchiyama Private Residence — Karuizawa, Japan

Shoichi Uchiyama lives in the woods of Karuizawa from spring to Christmas every year. He said, “This place is located at 1,000 meters above sea level. There are bountiful forests and lakes and blessed with fresh water and clear air. I was fascinated by the environment similar to Northern Europe in every aspect.” The COVID-19 pandemic made him seek for a site where he felt most at home and he encountered this residence, which attracted him due to its reinforced concrete structure providing vaulted large space, solid wood flooring, amazing exposed beams doubling as décor, and classical fireplace. He resonated with the commitment of the person who had originally built the house and left behind French custom-made roof tiles, shutters with horseshoes, classic wall brackets and chandelier.

Uchiyama took advantage of the building’s charms to renovate and decorate the house with his favorite Nordic furniture, rugs and art pieces. Lighting was designed from scratch. Three units of Enigma 825 Black only available through custom ordering were mounted on the almost 8-meter-high double-height ceiling of the living room. He enjoys the dynamic space where the three units hang down to different levels above floor and look as if they are hovering in the air. “Enigma gives you different impressions depending on the angle from which you see the fixture. My favorite is the beautiful overhead view from the second floor as looking down the vaulted space.

Sunbeam Design Dept.