Haiku Architecture: Poetic Simplicity Offers an Emotive Alternative to Minimalist Design
Last call: The clock is ticking as Architizer’s 12th Annual A+Awards enters its Extended Entry Deadline period. Submit your work before February 23rd for your chance at the global spotlight. Â
.けぶりして露ふりて無我な在所哉
keburi shite tsuyu furite muga-na zaisho kana
dew turns to steam
trickling down selflessly…
farmhouse
Kobayashi Issa – 1811
Simplicity and suggestion are the foundation of a successful Haiku, a form of traditional Japanese poetry that strips away all but the essential words and uses them to beautifully convey a single moment in time. In the familiar 5-7-5 pattern of seventeen syllables that make up a Haiku, kigo (seasonal words) and kireji (cutting words) anchor the poem in a specific season, allowing the reader to engage their imagination to recreate a scenario the writer is retelling. Haiku often celebrates the beauty and impermanence of the natural world and invites readers to find profound meaning in nature and everyday experiences.
In architecture, this same principle has been adopted by a number of architects, finding a shared ethos with haiku in pursuit of simplicity, emotional resonance and the power of suggestion. Architects who embrace this ‘haiku approach’ often favor natural materials to celebrate the living world and play with light and shadow to connect occupants with the natural rhythms of the day while creating fluid spatial transitions that suggest rather than dictate how spaces should be used or lived in. It is a minimalist style that is deeply emotive.
The goal of haiku principles in architecture is to build unique relationships between a building and its users that encourage a connection to the environment and each other. Just as haiku strips away all but the essential words to convey a moment, architectural haiku seeks to distill design to its most fundamental aspects — form, light, material and space — creating places that invite visitors to fill the space with their interpretations and emotions.
Casa Sexta
By All Arquitectura, CDMX, Mexico
Popular Choice Winner, 11th Annual A+Awards, Residential Interiors (>3000 sq ft)
Casa Sexta by All Arquitectura, CDMX, Mexico. Photographs by Zaickz Moz.
The white stucco, green foliage, warm tones and light woodwork of Casa Sexta, designed by All Arquitectura, serve as the perfect pallet to celebrate nature’s beauty and impermanence. An idea that is so fundamental in Haiku. The design of Casa Sexta suggests rather than dictates how spaces are to be inhabited. By developing the program across three levels and orienting the walls at a 45º angle to capture sunlight through ten patios, the structure of Casa Sexta encourages a fluid movement between the various spaces.
Each room benefits from natural lighting and ventilation that promote a harmonious flow. Allowing the inhabitants of the home to define their own experiences while always being connected to the natural rhythms of the day. The presence of a black acacia tree at the heart of the project deepens this connection. The living centerpiece links the various spaces of the house while also physically documenting the passage of time.
Panorama Penthouse
By Bureau Fraai, Netherlands
Jury Winner, 11th Annual A+Awards, Residential Interiors (>3000 sq ft)
Panorama Penthouse by Bureau Fraai, Netherlands. Photographs by Flare Department.
As suggested by its name, Panorama Penthouse was designed to amplify the relationship between the internal living space and the external skyline views. Opting for an open floor plan, the home provides unobstructed and simply breathtaking 180-degree panoramic views of the seaside and the city center. There are free-standing oak volumes that are built to house private areas such as the primary bathroom, office space and bedrooms in the evening. These structures add to the fluidity of the space while ensuring comfortable functionality.
The penthouse’s material palette was thoughtfully selected to reflect the visas beyond, echoing the haiku’s integration with nature. The light oak wood mirrors the dunes and beaches, while the muted grey cabinetry in the kitchen and dining room are intended to echo the distant city skyline. The design follows the capacity of a haiku to capture and convey the essence of a moment or scene – in this instance, the ever-changing colors of the skies, tides and urban landscape.
OG House
By Omar Gandhi Architects, Halifax, Canada
Jury Winner, 11th Annual A+Awards, Residential, Private House (M 2000 – 4000 sq ft)
OG House by Omar Gandhi Architects, Halifax, Canada, Photographs by Ema Peter Photography.
On a site with deep community ties, OG House and architect Omar Gandhi reflect the principle of haiku in the building by grounding in a specific moment and setting. The transformation of the ground floor of the standout structure into a community studio dedicated to local projects and for local residents takes into consideration the site’s history as well as its present needs, creating a space that is deeply embedded in its community.
The choice of local materials, such as eastern white cedar, buff-colored brick, and white oak paneling, speaks to the project’s commitment to material honesty and the celebration of natural textures — a core of haiku poetry. The weathered cedar façade that blends with the neighborhood’s textures acknowledges the city’s architectural heritage and exemplifies a design that is both of and for its environment.
Within the space, the repeated use of gentle, rounded corners and the incorporation of organic shapes in the stairwells and handrails demonstrate an attention to form that is evocative of haiku elegance and subtlety. These design elements gently guide movement and focus within the house, inviting exploration and reflection.
Empire Loft
By Raad Studio, New York City, New York
Popular Choice Winner, 11th Annual A+Awards, Residential Interiors (>3000 sq ft)
Empire Loft by Raad Studio, New York, NY, United States. Photography by Alan Tansey.
Through a series of deliberate spatial manipulations and material choices, Empire Loft is full of moments of elegance and unexpectedness. The dramatic cutaway of the second floor to introduce a suspended bridge is a bold spatial move that disrupts the traditional apartment layout, making the sinuous dark stone spiral staircase and the bridge focal points of movement and interaction, embodying the principle of simplicity in form yet complexity in experience that is fundamental in the creation of a haiku.
Mirrored elements throughout the apartment create illusions with the depth and boundary, inviting occupants and guests to reinterpret the apartment’s dimensions. Incorporating a recording studio wrapped in corrugated felt illustrates an understanding of sensory restraint—capturing haiku’s minimalist ethos. This thoughtful detail underlines the importance of not only visual comfort but also the management of all sensory experiences when striving for harmonious architecture.
Each design decision, from the layout to the material finishes, is part of a design strategy that aims to provide memorable moments of ordinary residential experience, elevating the every day through craftsmanship and creativity.
Last call: The clock is ticking as Architizer’s 12th Annual A+Awards enters its Extended Entry Deadline period. Submit your work before February 23rd for your chance at the global spotlight. Â
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Located in the heart of Atlanta, The Kendeda Building was designed to make a statement. Created for the Georgia Institute of Technology, the building’s design also became an expression of its value system. These ideas are shown on display both inside and out, from the massing to material choices like mass timber. Working with Lord Aeck Sargent, a Katerra Company (LAS), the team at Miller Hull wanted to demonstrate that rigorous design and sustainability go hand-in-hand.
The concept of The Kendeda Building is inspired by the vernacular southern porch. Taking this element and expanding it from the residential to the civic scale, the team imagined a “regenerative porch” that could create a cool microclimate on the surrounding site. The resulting structure invites visitors inside to rest, learn and to look up as they learn about the space around them. Inside, the building continues the concept of learning by example through the design itself. As the team explained, gravity and lateral elements are left exposed creating a visual register of the structural forces at work.
The Kendeda Building hosts a variety of learning spaces to welcome all students and disciplines from campus. Traditional classrooms as well as laboratory space and meeting rooms fill the building. Each space has generous daylighting, operable windows and is free of Red List chemicals. Indoor environmental quality was the primary driver in the design of these spaces to support learning. The Kendeda Building is Georgia Tech’s first timber building since its earliest load bearing masonry and timber structures from the 1880s. Climate smart mass timber was selected for its significantly smaller embodied carbon footprint, compared to concrete and steel systems.
The design of the Kendeda Building demonstrates that ‘Living Buildings’ are possible in even the most demanding climates. The 
Yet, the project achieved full Living Building Certification in 2021 after proving its net positive energy and water performance during its year-long occupancy period. At the heart of this was the “Regenerative Porch” — a structural system and PV canopy that generates more than 100% of the building’s energy demand and captures enough rainwater to meet 100% of the water used in the building. At the same time, the design blurs interior and exterior conditions while providing weather-protected outdoor classroom space. As the first Living Building of its kind in the Southeast US, the project set a new standard for design.
The Kendeda Fund provided ongoing funding to support programs in the building that engage local Atlanta communities beyond the university. The atrium, lecture hall, roof garden, and multipurpose room were all designed to be made available for community events. As the team outlined, Georgia Tech’s mission is to maximize the impact of the building by exposing as many students as possible to the project. After learning in a building expressing such a strong position on resiliency and sustainability, the hope is that they will take those values with them into the future.
Once bustling with warehouses, factories and docks, this stretch of land on the banks of Guangzhou’s Pearl River has undergone a dramatic transformation. The former industrial lot is now a remarkable public park, imbued with the spirit of its commercial past.
In a densely packed metropolis like Mumbai, prioritizing the public realm amongst the city’s vast transport infrastructure is a far from straightforward undertaking. This innovative masterplan sought to readdress the balance, creating a street that fullfils the needs of all spatial users. Impressively, the project reclaimed almost 2.3 acres of land for municipal use.
Poised on the boundary between the city and the desert, the Pima Dynamite Trailhead in Scottsdale is a gateway of sorts between two worlds. The beginning of the trail is marked by an angular volume, clad in a corten steel skin that rises out of the sandy wilderness. As well as accommodating restrooms and amenities within, the center’s slatted overhangs frame outdoor rooms, oriented to maximize the outlook and provide respite for hikers, cyclists and equestrians.
This astonishing public park at the heart of a college community in Guangzhou is a contemplative space where the metaphysical takes center stage. Defined by sweeping, curvilinear pathways and undulating lawns, scale and form are skilfully handled, resulting in an immersive, thought-provoking design.
Sprawling across 128 acres, this pioneering project on the waterfront of Shenzhen challenges conventional notions of the public park. Rather than a distinct, green space set apart from the city’s commercial hubbub, the new Central District Park combines natural landscapes with retail and cultural functions.
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In a dramatic departure from the historic cruciform plan, this remarkable church in the Philippines is defined by its striking, amorphous form. Shrouded by woodland, the mysterious edifice is veiled by a rhythmic curtain of white slats, eschewing precise angles for flowing, curvilinear lines. The building embraces organic shapes, while its permeable façade establishes a dialogue between the inner world of worship and the external landscape.
A casualty of urbanization, the trees that once surrounded this site in Brasília were all but removed to make way for an adjacent expressway. The acreage’s new Catholic church seeks to reawaken the bucolic soul of the land and illuminate the relationship between the spiritual and environmental realms.
While this astonishing church stands in East Texas, it draws on an ecclesiastical tradition some 8,000 miles away. A homage to the historic Armenian church of Saint Hripsime, it features the same domed form, built some 1,400 years on from its counterpart. The structure’s sculptural interior, carved from glass-fiber reinforced concrete, follows the lead of its ancient inspiration. Lighting fixtures, air-conditioning ducts and other modern interventions have been skilfully concealed, creating an ethereal finish that transcends time.
This enchanting chapel in British Columbia was conceived as a peaceful place of reflection and reconnection with the organic landscape, at a distance from the frenetic hubbub of modern life. Its name, Meristem, references a plant tissue found in the roots and shoots of foliage, which instigates the growth of new cells. In the same way, this unassuming space seeks to instill spiritual growth in those who find refuge within its walls.
Envisaged as a progressive beacon, this extraordinary synagogue in California combines centuries-old tradition with modern values, articulated through cutting-edge construction methods. The project negotiated a number of restrictions, including an awkward, triangular plot, a single-story height limit and a tight budget. The result is a versatile place of worship that utilizes humble materials and honors the structure’s environmental context.
This innovative project sits at a juncture between contrasting worlds. Bridging Springfield’s energetic commercial district and a quiet neighborhood, the building fuses two surprising typologies: a private law practice and a chapel. Visually compelling, the modernist-inspired structure masterfully balances the needs of its client, a minister and attorney with a proclivity for Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.
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This extraordinary new restaurant in an up-and-coming Tijuana neighborhood seeks to transport the culinary and architectural traditions of Japan onto the streets of Mexico. Inspired by the chef’s passion for culinary smoking, shou sugi ban siding offers an eloquent, material articulation of this cooking technique, while paying homage to the restaurant’s cultural heritage.
Rising like a boulder on a wooded incline in Lake Tahoe, this ambitious concept envisages a monolithic residence that’s at one with its natural surroundings. A shell of charred cedar siding encases the home, a skin that will shift and weather in tandem with the adjacent trees. Meanwhile, vast apertures frame snapshots of the domestic spaces within.
This compact ADU was designed as a guest studio and writing retreat that would fit snuggly alongside the site’s main dwelling. At once a “place apart” from the primary property and quietly referential of its mid-century modern architecture, the result is a striking, sculptural space that makes a big statement across a small square footage.
The first responders that staff this innovative new fire station in Iowa are all too familiar with the devastating effects of fire. However, the building’s tactile façade somewhat subverts the narrative of destruction. Clad in rich, charred timber, the structure demonstrates the creative potential of fire too, when utilized in a controlled environment.
Entering this think tank feels like entering someone’s living room, you almost feel like you need to knock first. Designed as an engaging and emotion provoking workplace that seamlessly flows between what used to be two warehouses in the Bay Area in California, this design research company adopts what the designers termed as a “better-than-home” concept, achieved through the selection of furniture, carpets, plants and materials that have contributed to producing a very relaxing and tranquil work environment. The workspaces are distributed over a wide variety of smaller spaces anchored in the open floor plan and staggered vertically across a number of split levels that together enrich the user experience for the employees, guests and collaborators.
From the outside, the two newly designed EDGE office buildings facing Hedwig-Dohm-Strasse in Berlin give no hint of what their insides look like, presenting employees a pleasant surprise once they enter. Inside the “Carré” building, the larger of the two buildings, a generously naturally lit atrium almost looks like a play area for adults, with its design blurring the boundary between the inside and the outside.
The interiors of the Yeahka headquarter office look like an ultra modern apartment set in a futuristic movie scene, with meeting tables hovering over the building’s central space inside glass boxes and the exposed structure of the refurbished building boldly exposed. The rough appearance of the building’s envelope is nicely contrasted with the use of softer materials and lighter colors for the partitions and the furniture, while the high ceilings allow floods of natural sunlight to travel across the office’s atriums and establish a variety of visual connections for visitors and employees across the different floors.
Aesthetically, the organization of this office space is remarkably appealing, allowing the eye to travel across a variety of layers and vertical lines around every corner. Whether it is through the contrast of materials, or the perfect positioning of the working chambers inside the open floor plan, a lot is happening inside this refurbished historical building whose celebratory classic exterior celebrates a masterpiece of its time. The color white, which dominates the interior, sets the stage for the other materials to occupy the space, particularly the red brick walls that stand as a reminder of the building’s rich past.