Syracuse School of Architecture
Yokohama, Japan
SOFTWARES:
Rhino 7
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Lightroom
ARQvis Plugin
Grasshopper
Lightburn
Bambu Studio
Miro
FABRICATION:
Hand Cut
Laser Cut
3D Print
CNC Mill
Woodshop Equip:
Dremel
Table Saw
Nail Gun
Soldering Iron
IKEBANA FROG HOUSE
B.ARCHITECTURE THESIS 2026
Independent Research advised byKyle James Miller
CITATION OF EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN RESEARCHBritton Memorial 4th Place Finalist
Institution Publication: https://soa.syr.edu/live/profiles/1681-114-ikebana-frog-house
Devoid of the geometries, curves, and structures tuned by nature, present-day suburbia remains stripped of ecopoiesis. Contemporary single-family homes are desperate to deploy a formal technique that links the synthetic with the natural. Ikebana [kadō [花道 ]; the way of flowers] offers a balanced structural composition and order of form, acting as a vessel for domestic architecture and ritual.
This Buddhist ceremonial practice was historically reserved for Japanese women of the Meiji era to gain societal rank within a patriarchal society. It is a calculated floral arrangement composed as a singular balanced object. Anchoring the arrangement is the frog [剣山; kenzan], a brass spiking pin that fastens the stems supporting cantilevering masses [shin, soe, hikae].
Positioned within the historical lineage of organic architecture, the strategies and tactics of Robie House by Frank Lloyd Wright sequence the dwelling’s program, deploy built-ins, and replace the centralized hearth with the courtyard. Bi-fold doors extend the interior beyond its physical boundaries, enabling a seasonal transformation of the home.
The courtyard operates as a domestic kenzan, structuring spatial extensions outward while anchoring seasonal occupation. Its illumination gestures inward as residents cycle through their own rituals. The material contrast between renewal and decay invites an awareness of the present as the yakisugi cladding weathers with each season.
In an embrace of fleeting moments, the Ikebana Frog House does not approach decay through avoidance, but embodies a celebration of living beings — their birth, growth, decay, and rebirth.