GENERAL RESEARCH OFF-SITE
Designed by architect Shin Ohori of General Design for Setsumasa and Mami Kobayashi, founders of General Research. Located in the Chichibu mountain range northwest of Tokyo, the site serves as both a personal weekend shelter and a field-testing ground for product development.
The structure is built on an elevated platform using locally harvested larch wood and features removable walls made from fiber-reinforced plastic. It includes two yellow dome tents used as permanent sleeping areas—one placed on a secondary deck and the other on the roof of the main volume. The central enclosed space houses a kitchen and dining area.
The shelter is equipped with electricity, hot water, internet access, and basic amenities, including a clawfoot bathtub. The location is remote but accessible, allowing the Kobayashis to engage in maintenance tasks and outdoor work while still performing professional duties remotely. The architecture is intentionally simple and functional, emphasizing modularity, environmental responsiveness, and a hybrid of modernist design with primitive outdoor living elements.
The project operates as a live-in testing platform for lifestyle and gear integration in a real-world setting, merging domestic space with performance wear prototyping. It represents an approach to architecture and living that prioritizes adaptability, utility, and a direct relationship with the natural environment.
Salomon S/LAB EXO Tank — Women’s
The women’s S/LAB EXO Tank treats support as a mapped structure. A polyurethane EXO Sensifit grid braces the upper chest, shoulders and spine, while Smart Skin places Actilite Pro jersey through the core and open stretch mesh at the heat zones. The skin fit keeps the grid engaged; flatlock seams and reflective marks finish the racing layer without adding bulk.
Dean Bouchard — Inside Out
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) — Zion Control Room
Nike x Undercover Gyakusou SS2014
Vatnajökull — Glacier near Skaftafell, Iceland
A.P.C. Bond Street NY
Desert Mountains Aerial View 012
Filson — Scout Backpack (Tundra Shrub Camo)
Vennesla Library and Culture House by Helen & Hard
Mood 97352
SENSE Magazine visvim Spring Summer 2012
A page from 'TEXT in visvim', the visvim Spring/Summer 2012 feature in Japan's SENSE Magazine (March 2012). Naturally dyed, hand-constructed pieces from Hiroki Nakamura.
PRO-Keds KAZzROCK Combat
From their street military shoes series
Swatch Art Peace Hotel Shanghai Interior by Jouin Manku
Stone Island Shadow Project ss2013
GOLDWIN SS2017
“Everyone pays attention to what is right before his eyes. What sets a manufacturer apart is giving painstaking detail to what is not readily visible.”
— Tosaku Nishida, The Founder of Goldwin
Visvim F.I.L. Sendai Store
Visvim 2012 Subsection Series
The SUBSECTION SERIES is a fragrance collection by Visvim, inspired by founder Hiroki Nakamura’s encounter with French fragrance designer Blaise Mautin over 20 years ago. The series includes candles, room sprays, and diffusers, each available in various scents. Notable fragrances are NO.1 F.I.L., a blend featuring patchouli and sandalwood, and NO.7 KYOTO, inspired by a morning visit to Kyoto’s Sanjusangendo temple.
SENSE March 2012 the TEXT in VISVIM 2012 Spring Summer
LOST & FOUND SECTION FROM FRANK GRAFFITI MAG
TMS.SITE UV RESIST TESTED TO WORK LONG TEE
Neighborhood N-2B / N-JKT Olive Drab
Peninsula House by Watson Architecture + Design
gore-tex lined pool at firmament berlin 2011
