In Metropolis Magazine's latest - and last - installment in their annual design cities review, the focus is not on output or culture but on cities themselves as the point of inspiration. For the designers surveyed, these were the cities that made their hearts beat a little faster; the ones that remained in their minds and wormed their way into their work.
Kyoto: The Latest Architecture and News
The Top 10 Inspirational Design Cities of 2018, As Revealed by Metropolis Magazine
Flux / SIDES CORE
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Architects: SIDES CORE
- Area: 148 m²
- Year: 2017
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Manufacturers: Artek, Carl Hansen, Magis
Kondo Museum / Mamiya Shinichi Design Studio
Guest House in Kyoto / B.L.U.E. Architecture Design Studio
- Area: 120 m²
- Year: 2017
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Manufacturers: AST, Aica, Futagami, Inoue Sudare, Kamizumi, +6
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Professionals: Matsuyama Landscape
Ichijoji House / atelier Luke
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Architects: atelier Luke
- Year: 2015
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Manufacturers: Artek, KISOARTECH, Lixil Corporation, Panasonic
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Professionals: Miura Construction
Newtown House / yukawa design lab
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Architects: yukawa design lab
- Area: 99 m²
- Year: 2016
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Manufacturers: Flame, JFE, Lixil Corporation
Riverside Villa / Atelier Boronski
- Area: 230 m²
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Manufacturers: Hansgrohe, Tap wareEndo
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Professionals: Takahashi Komuten, Teiyu
House in Umezu / koyori + DATT
Shimogamo Machiya Villa / Takuma Ohira
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Architects: Takuma Ohira
- Area: 62 m²
- Year: 2016
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Manufacturers: Daiwa, Fantini, cera
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Professionals: Yasui Corporation
Brasserie Restaurant / Kokaistudios
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Architects: Kokaistudios
- Area: 870 m²
- Year: 2016
Bake / Yusuke Seki
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Architects: Yusuke Seki
- Year: 2016
Kyoto Residence / EXH Design + Anoffice
New Kyoto Town House 2 / Alphaville Architects
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Architects: Alphaville Architects
- Area: 3000 m²
- Year: 2014
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Professionals: Takashi Manda Structural
The Corner House in Kitashirakawa / UME architects
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Architects: UME architects
- Year: 2015
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Professionals: S3 Associates Inc., TEN Planning
Japan's Abandoned Golf Courses Get Second Life As Solar Farms
With a goal to double the amount of its renewable energy power sources by 2030, Japan has begun to transform abandoned golf courses into massive solar energy plants. As Quartz reports, Kyocera, a company known for its floating solar plants, has started construction on a 23-megawatt solar plant on an old golf course in the Kyoto prefecture (scheduled to open in 2017). The company also plans to break ground on a similar, 92-megawatt plant in the Kagoshima prefecture next year. Pacifico Energy is also jumping on the trend; with the help of GE Energy Financial Services, the company is overseeing two solar plant golf course projects in the Okayama prefecture. The idea is spreading too; plans to transform gold courses into solar fields are underway in New York, Minnesota and other US states as well.