Architect Tony Caro, director of Tony Caro Architecture, has spent some time in Japan over the past 10 years and became very interested in the country's culture and architecture.

"They do have a traditional concept which they describe as 'ma' which is in western translation 'the space between', and that connects with the Australian inside/outside way of living," he says.

"But for them the actual transition from outside to inside is something to think about, so the way a view is framed or the way you move through a threshold into a building is an interesting idea."

Caro says he likes the economy and modesty of Japanese housing, and thinks Australians can gain some inspiration from that.

"In the current Australian climate of affordability and spiralling house prices it's a good thing to think about - what should a home be, is it a status symbol or a container for living?" he says.

Architect Diane Jones, executive director of PTW Architects, also understands Japanese influence and has helped adapt it on a large scale to Australian conditions.

"[In Japanese architecture] diagonal views are really important, there is some empirical work that has been done on the importance of that and the importance of glancing light," she says.

PTW Architects took this into account when designing the adult acute mental health unit on a site at the Canberra Hospital. The new unit represents the therapeutic model of care and gives an innovative physical expression to the path to recovery.

"It was highlighted by some of the consultation we did about the importance of seeing the sky and being aware of that; being able to see out to space and into a space. We have that sense of attachment [with nature], protected on one side but this sense of expansiveness on the other," Jones says.

This SHAWOOD home at The Hermitage, Gledswood Hills, mirrors the Japanese SHAWOOD design philosophies with seamless flow between indoor to outdoor. Photo: Sekisui House

PTW is currrently working on an aged-care residence and schools.

"In school, anxiety is a key issue so diagonal views and sequence of space is really important; always being able to look out, with some connection to nature is important."

Sekisui House is a company bringing a Japanese aesthetic to domestic architecture in Australia with their SHAWOOD Homes.

"The biggest design philosophy that we implement is organic design principles. We call it naturalism in Japan, where we focus on connecting the house or building with surrounding nature," says Makoto Ochiai, product development and manufacturing manager, SHAWOOD.

"Various architectural components of the house, such as internal timber features, mimic natural elements to create a sense of connectivity to nature."

These timber features might give similar filtered light that a leafy branch would give, or an exposed structural beam might give the impression of living with nature indoors.

And the compact living conditions common in Japan have brought a thorough understanding of efficient spatial design.

"We make good use of space. When we first came to Australia we saw that internal spaces were not being used, they weren't functional. Because Japan has such high density living, (more than 100 times greater than Australia) the designs tend to be very efficient, we have to be efficient - we design a space that always has a purpose," Ochiai says.

"We have implemented this into our SHAWOOD range of homes. We understand size and floorplan articulation needs to meet the market, but we tend to design every piece of space and element to have meaning and purpose."

Ochiai says Australian buyers have reacted well to this proposition.

"People appreciate the cleanness, neutral design and use of raw materials," he says. "We want maximum connectivity to nature, instead of trying to shut out nature."

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