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Tono Mirai architects

CEO Tono Mirai
First-class architect

〒389-0115
961-27 Oiwake, Karuizawa-machi, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano Prefecture

TEL: +81 (0)267-31-6264
E-mail: shell@tonomirai.com
Website: https://www.tonomirai.com

MISSION

To create environments and lifestyles that are rooted in the earth and return to the earth.
We offer design, supervision, and consulting services for soil- and child-centered architecture and environments using earth and wood.

■ Ecological Architecture with Earth and Wood

  • Homes and facilities for children (nurseries, kindergartens, community spaces – new construction and renovation)

  • Energy-efficient design, renovations, and seismic retrofitting using earth and wood (for houses, buildings, and interiors)

■ Soil Regeneration, Environmental Restoration, and Reforestation

  • Landscape and forest design

  • Joint design with landscaping and forestry companies

■ Furniture, Lighting, Fixtures

  • Design and production

● Earth House

  • A house that returns to the soil, connecting people with the land

  • Environmentally low-impact homes using soil, locally sourced natural materials (earth and wood), traditional craftsmanship, and human-scale processes

  • Earth walls (with bamboo laths or wood boards), hand-made plaster, lime, earthen floors, kamado (traditional hearth)

  • Earth and wood houses with energy-saving and passive design features

  • Homes built with stacked timber block construction

● Children’s Spaces

  • Homes, nurseries, kindergartens, group homes, gardens, biotopes, playgrounds, etc., made with earth and plaster

● Community Spaces and Forest Regeneration

  • Proposals developed in collaboration with specialists and craftsmen

  • Self-build and community building projects

  • Participatory construction with builders, children, and the local community

  • Earth and children’s workshops

  • Community gardens, biotopes, and gathering spaces

  • Restoration of gardens and forests

Vision

Architecture and Craftsmanship
with local earth, trees and people

Tono Mirai is an architect who creates contemporary architecture by using traditional material ‘earth’.

His characteristic organic form is made from the vibrant energy in the space that give a human relief and vitality.

He won many prizes in Japan and internationally for sustainability through the use of local and natural materials and the modern use of traditional techniques.

02
Tono Mirai

Founder
First-Class Architect / Member of the Children’s Environmental Society
/ Certified Advisor for Child-Friendly Environments

Born in Sendai City, Japan, in 1962.
Graduated from the Graduate School of Architecture at Waseda University in 1988. After working for architectural firms, he founded Tono Mirai Architects in 1995.
From 2008 to 2018, he collaborated on research into earth architecture at Maebashi Institute of Technology.
Specializing in environmental architecture using earth and wood, as well as traditional Japanese techniques, he has received numerous architectural awards both in Japan and internationally. He is also active in lectures and publications.

In 1995, he established his own studio and became an architect specializing in contemporary organic earth architecture. Motivated by a family member’s health issues, he designed his own residence and studio, “Kanda SU/Nest House,” to be a place of comfort. Located in central Tokyo, it challenges the typical image of modern apartment housing by featuring an open and fluid design. The renovation utilized traditional Japanese plastering techniques to transform a series of closed and lifeless spaces into a vibrant and nurturing environment. The house reflects the philosophy of shizen (Nature), evolving and regenerating with time.

In 2000, his earth installation “nest=0” opened in London. Visitors from around the world recognized familiar landscapes within its walls, revealing the universal resonance of earth architecture. His signature works—Red Container, Future House, and the iconic Shell House / The Language of the Forest—combine unique and essential design sensibilities with the comfort and character of traditional earthen structures. Advocating for the use of local natural materials and sustainable design, Tono has received multiple international awards and frequently participates in lectures and conferences in Japan and Europe.

●Qualifications

First-Class Architect (Registration No. 254192, Minister of Construction)
Registered Architectural Firm (No. A24052, Nagano Prefecture, Saku Office)
Member of the Japan Federation of Architects & Building Engineers Associations (Professional Liability Insurance No. 8853)

●Affiliations

Japan Institute of Architects
Architectural Institute of Japan
Japan Federation of Architects & Building Engineers Associations / Nagano Association of Architects
Children’s Environmental Society
NPO Forum for Wood Architecture
NPO Shinshu Traditional Architecture Conservation Society

His portfolio also includes several installations in raw clay, which transform this material into a vehicle for conveying his ideas. His most recent research focuses on the use of the pisé technique in a modern Japanese way that involves the mixed use of wood and earth, and on the potential of reusing earth from construction waste.

Discover his philosophy Discover his philosophy

Tono Mirai will participate in the Architecture Biennale in Venice 2021 with a new site-specific installation, part of the exhibition “Time Space Existence” organised by the European Cultural Center.

Discover all News / Events Discover all News / Events

Awards received

2025
・TOILETOWA
crQlr Awards 2024 / Circular Awards 2024-Living Loop Prize, Removing the Lid Prize -Organized by: Loftwork Inc., FabCafe Global
Designverse Award 2024–2025 – Spatial Design Category-Special Honor Award Organized by: Designverse
・OYAKI FARM BY IROHADO
The 17th Nagano Architectural Culture Award – General Category
Grand Prize (Governor of Nagano Award) Organized by: Nagano Association of Architects

2024
・TOILETOWA wins Japan Kukan Design Award Bronze and Sustainable Prize
・OYAKI FARM BY IROHADO
APDC DESIGN AWARDS, Asia Pacific Design Center, Excellence Award, Architecture Category

2023
・OYAKI FARM BY IROHADO
Finalist Prize, Wooden Construction Category, A+Award 2023, International Architecture Site Architizer, Nagano Prefecture Hometown Forestation Award, Prefectural Governor’s Award, Wood Design Award 2023, 55th Chubu Architectural Award 2023, Japan Wood Growers’ Federation (JWF) Wood Use Competition Excellence Prize, Japan Wood Growers’ Federation Chairman’s Award, Japan Wood Growers’ Federation (JWF) Finalist Prize, Wood Construction Category, International Architecture Site Architizer, Japan Wood Growers’ Federation (JWF) Nagano Prefecture Governor’s Prize, Wood Design Award 2023, 55th Chubu Architectural Award 2023, 36th Nagano City Landscape Award, Tanita Housingware Roofed Architecture Contest 2023, Jury’s Special Prize, Rain Road Design Award, and the Roofed Architecture Design Contest 2023.

・Shell House / Mori no ie
The 3rd Japan Federation of Architects & Building Engineers Associations Architectural Work Award, Incentive Award (residential and living space category), 2nd JIA Nagano Architectural Award, Honorable Mention

2022
Director-General’s Prize of the Forestry Agency, 2022 Competition for Superior Facilities Using Wood, organized by the Central Council for the Promotion of Wood Use, and BLT Built Design Awards 2022, Architectural Design Category Prize, international architecture website BLT Built Design Awards.
BUILD BUILD Architecture Awards 2022 Best Sustainable Contemporary Architecture Practice Award

2021
Wood Design Award 2021

Wood Design Award 2021
Mori Chikara Award, International Architecture Site BUILD BUILD Architecture Awards 2020 (UK), Best Residential Design Award in Japan, Best Architectural Design and Supervision Award, Architectural Institute of Japan, Japan 2020 (100 Outstanding Architectural Works)

2019
Nagano Prefecture Architectural Culture Award, Best Residential Design Award (Prefectural Governor’s Award), Jury’s Award, Residential Design Category, A+Award sponsored by Architizer, an international architecture website

2018
Wood Design Award 2018, Chubu Architectural Award, Residential Section, Special Prize

2016
Contemporary Architecture of the World Soil TERRA AWARD, Honorable Mention
Japan Institute of Architects, Kanto Koshinetsu Branch, Conference Encouragement Award

2013
Japan Plaster Association Work Award .

2011
Japan Plaster Association Award for the Best Work / Children’s Environment Society Award for Encouragement of Design / 1st Prize in the Actual Work Category for a New Traditional Construction House .

2010
Monotsukuri University, 1st Prize in the actual work section of the competition for a house with new traditional construction method .
Children’s Environment Society of Japan Award, Design Encouragement Prize

2008
Excellent Prize, Residence Renovation Competition
2006
Special Prize, Eco-Art Award

2004
Grand Prize, Renovation, Renewal & Conversion Design Competition / Honorable Mention, Interior Planning Award

1999
Nashop Lighting Contest, Newcomer Award
Nashop Lighting Contest Newcomer Award Dining Bar hana

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