Transcultural Dwelling. Japan’s Pioneer Architect Miho Hamaguchi and her last Project in Spain

Abstract

Miho Hamaguchi (1915-1988) was the first woman to be a licensed architect in Japan. A pioneer in domestic design during the postwar period, she built and consulted on thousands of houses throughout her prolific career. However, she is a little-known figure both in Japan and in the international debate. Her representation in architectural historiography is limited to her influence on kitchen design, but her writings and work go far beyond. Hamaguchi's legacy is one of bold residential architecture that embodied democratic ideas in spatial configurations. She promoted the house as a fundamental tool for gender equality, leaving behind a feudal and patriarchal system. At the end of her career, she found in Costa del Sol the perfect place to carry out a residential project as a cultural exchange. "Kaiyo Club" became a set of three houses since the first design in 1974 until the subsequent extensions were completed in 1987. Throughout its different stages, the project shows a striking Spanish-Japanese transfer where different architectural languages coexist. The white-walled exterior dialogues with the vernacular, while its interior unfolds Japanese patterns with tatami-floored rooms or ofuro-style bathrooms. These dwellings present a unique hybrid materialization, displaying Hamaguchi's design from a humanistic stance, blending of locally rooted modernist spatial principles and reinterpreted traditions.