A makeover energizes a former swimming space while retaining traces of its watery past..

Tokyo may be among the world’s largest cities, but it has some of the smallest buildings. At critical nodes such as Roppongi and Shinjuku, the city has plenty of skyscrapers and hulking commercial complexes, yet its character is mostly defined by dense, low-scale neighborhoods where the majority of buildings are no more than five stories high.

Despite Japan's energy belt-tightening, triggered by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of 2011, dazzling lighting effects still bedeck most luxury boutiques in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district.

Kengo Kuma refers to the classic brewing process of a century-old Japanese soy sauce maker for a surprising shop in an urban mall.

In spite of a tight property and desire for privacy, the clients wanted a roomy house with airy open spaces, and as much light as possible.

Bookstores may be closing right and left in cities all over the world, but in January 2012 Tokyo welcomed Daikanyama Tsutaya Books with an enthusiastic embrace.

The compact site, located along on a narrow, one-lane street, is situated in a relatively verdant residential district in Tokyo in a neighborhood that contains a mixture of detached houses and low-rise condominiums.