Designer Nathaniel Furman was presented with a 160 sq m apartment situated in the heart of Tokyo’s governmental district. The client requested a ‘bubble gum’ flat, involving milky pastels and bright accents, the apartment is a hyper-aestheticised paradise. Furman cleverly combined colour, texture, materials and form into everyday domestic-life.

‘The clients had an old property that they have had since the early 1980s, and together with all the new developments going on in Tokyo for the Olympics, wanted to do their place up in an exciting and fun way that matched how Tokyo was changing,’ Furman says. ‘They wanted to avoid the small rooms and corridor of the previous layout, so I developed the idea of this large extended kitchen counter, table and screen, which became like a hearth at the centre of the home.’

The final result illustrates how space can be totally challenged and transformed. Apartments in Japan are typically extremely compact and have uninspiring interiors, the Nagatcho Apartment turns this on its head entirely.