Luke Hayward & Junko Nakatsuka
The Two of Us
Luke Hayward and Junko Nakatsuka. Photo: Naomi Murasaki
Interview by Peter Salhani | photography by Naomi-Murasaki, Michael Nicholson, Yohei Sasakura
Taking a step into the unknown underpins the success of Atelier Luke – the studio of architect Luke Hayward and interior designer Junko Nakatsuka. Living and working between Australia and Japan, this unique young partnership embraces risk, asking the question: “If no risk, why do it?
what do you do and how did that happen?
Luke: I’m an architect. I first did a degree in film and television production, and started out doing production design – making sets and props. Then in my twenties I studied architecture so I could design real things instead of stage sets. I’m definitely more an architect now than I ever was a filmmaker, but that influence is very much a foundation for what I do today.
Junko: I am an interior designer. I studied in Brisbane and later in Melbourne at RMIT. I was always interested in buildings, but I didn’t realise this until I moved to Australia, at age 18. My father, a structural engineer and university professor, took us to see new skyscrapers, luxury hotels and airports – just out of interest.
Atelier Luke’s Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Winner of 2020 AIA International Chapter Awards – Residential Architecture (Alterations & Additions). Photo: Yohei Sasakura
Atelier Luke’s Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
What was your childhood landscape like?
Junko: I grew up in Osaka, Japan. It was very urban, a lot of hustle and bustle. Every summer we’d stay with my grandparents who lived in a small coastal town, Kamakura, about four hours away by Shinkansen (bullet train). Because I had those two different aspects, I am at home in the city, but I also really appreciate nature.
Luke: My childhood was predominantly about the beach and the ocean. A lot of our holidays were in northern New South Wales around Byron Bay and Broken Head, so they’re places I’ve always felt connected to. While I was born on the NSW Central Coast I grew up in Brisbane where there was a real sense of being far removed from the centre of things.
Atelier Luke Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
Above & below: Atelier Luke Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. The elevated platform (at seat height) doubles as a dining bench and a threshold between inside and out. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
where do you live and why?
Luke: We’ve been living between Byron Bay and Osaka, although Covid has changed that a bit. We like that mix of the intensity of the city (I’ve also lived in Tokyo), but then getting back to nature and being near the ocean. It’s very important to me.
Terrace House by Atelier Luke near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
Terrace House by Atelier Luke near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
Your collaboration? Starting your practice?
Luke: Starting the practice together just kind of happened about eight years ago. I was working with another practice but things were cooling off in terms of new work, so we decided to spend some time in Japan, having been together in Australia for so many years. I was hoping to find work in an architecture practice there, but most wanted me to work for nothing, so I decided to work for myself instead. Junko had other jobs, but as my work grew, and we reached a point of wanting children, it made sense for Junko to help me, and have more flexibility.
Junko: I’d say Luke drives the design, and comes up with the initial concepts, then I go through and make notes. Then we talk. It goes like that, back and forth. He takes some of my suggestions but not all of them, which is totally fine. That’s how we develop the designs.
Terrace House by Atelier Luke near Demachiyanagi. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
Your goals in practice?
Junko: We do mostly residential and renovations but I hope to expand into education and commercial buildings. I’d love to design boutique luxury hotels, small commercial buildings and retail spaces.
Luke: We work at two scales: the big picture and the finer details, so the goal is to strike a balance between finely handcrafted work and the larger conceptual underpinnings of a project. Zoom in and the focus is on perfecting a particular timber joint. Zoom out and we’re looking at the spatial quality and connections. That’s what excites us.
Atelier Luke’s Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
How do you understand risk?
Junko: I never thought working together was a risk because we both know what we like and what we don't like, and we’re comfortable enough to say.
Luke: Part of me is conservative, but a bigger part of me thinks that if you’re not willing to take a risk, then what's the point? Even in design there has to be an element of risk or why do it? With each project we learn something and try and push it to another level in the next.
Loft level of Atelier Luke’s Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photo: Yohei Sasakura
How do you measure or celebrate success?
Junko: To celebrate success I like to visit places we haven’t seen: a day trip, a museum or gallery visit. How we measure success is partly when the client is happy. And also when other, random people – not the client, or family or friends – like our work. That makes us feel like we’ve done a good job.
Luke: Enjoying success is something I struggle with, Junko finds this frustrating. Perhaps it’s an Australian thing, you know, we joke about tall poppies. There’s always pressure to not look too proud of what you’ve done, in case someone cuts you down. But I am trying to learn to enjoy success.
Above: Details from Atelier Luke’s Terrace House near Demachiyanagi, Kyoto. Photos: Yohei Sasakura, Luke Hayward
How do you push through disappointments?
Junko: That’s a tricky question. Just talking with each other, sharing disappointments. It might not pass immediately, but over time you move on and focus on the next thing that’s happening.
Luke: I’ve certainly had moments wondering if things will pay off. But in terms of design, the work we do is iterative. That’s the process – just trying everything until something works. The cheapest way to fail is on a piece of paper. That’s the value of design. And there’s a larger lesson there… just keep going.
Abeno-ku, Osaka. Photo: Luke Hayward
“Sometimes that’s the only difference between success and failure.”
Abeno-ku, Osaka. Photo: Luke Hayward
Your toughest lesson?
Luke: Living in Japan has allowed me to reflect on how as Australians we work hard and expect success to follow. But hard work alone isn’t everything. Luck plays a part, and sometimes you have to create your own luck. And sometimes you’ve just got to let the tide carry you along, because struggling is pointless.
How do you create luck?
Luke: Through risk taking. Maybe blind faith. Taking that step forward into the unknown, or at least towards an uncertain outcome. Sometimes that’s the only difference between success and failure – not talent or opportunity.
“Hard work alone isn’t everything. Sometimes you have to create your own luck.”
Abeno-ku, Osaka. Photo: Luke Hayward
Biggest challenge?
Junko: Shifting gears mentally between our projects in Japan and Australia can be a challenge.
Luke: Two things in practice. The work horizon – you’ve got projects on that get you to a certain point, but then you see the point looming where they finish. Then there are the construction and site details – I’m always thinking about what stage a project is at, and what could go wrong on site.
“At times I take on more than I can chew. Sometimes it backfires.”
Abeno-ku, Osaka. Photo: Luke Hayward
Strengths & weaknesses?
Junko: Luke says one of my strengths is communication – from dealing with builders and suppliers to photographers or real estate agents. A weakness might be that I can be too ambitious at times, and take on more than I can chew. Sometimes it backfires.
Sakyo-ku in Kyoto. Photo: Luke Hayward
Luke: One of my strengths is to remain naive enough to keep trying different things in design. But you need to be confident and competent enough once you’re out on that limb to actually pull it off. So I’m trying to hang on to a little bit of naivity… is that a weakness or a strength? Junko’s strength is being an incredibly insightful critic. In our working relationship, the role of critic is just so valuable. I can be working on something for weeks, lost in my own head, and she comes along in five minutes and says: ‘Well, that’s not working, try this.’ And she’s usually right. On the flip side, her cut-through can sometimes dent my sensitive feelings.
Sakyo-ku in Kyoto. Photo: Luke Hayward
What influence has life in Japan had on your work?
Luke: I have a strong interest in craft and especially carpentry, all types of making really. Japan has such a tradition of hand making, and great subtlety. I’m learning different ways of doing things and of architecture spatially, how buildings come together as an assembly of parts. Being on site and problem solving with such skilled craftspeople is the most joyous part of my work, it feels like a true collaborative process and human interaction. I’m mindful though to not copy or appropriate. I cringe a bit when our work is described as ‘Japanese inspired’, but recognise also when you live and work somewhere, it becomes ingrained in your process.
Broken Camp by Atelier Luke, a pavilion in the Byron Bay hinterland. Photo: Michael Nicholson
What influence has Australia had on your work?
Junko: Firstly, there’s obviously more space over here. But also the surrounding landscape is as important as the building itself. I don’t see that in Japanese architecture, where the aesthetic is highly ritualised. Landscape is important in Japanese architecture too, but in a very different way: a more controlled and refined way. It is beautiful. But it doesn’t change as much. There’s less surprise. Whereas in Australia, there's more of a looseness to the landscape.
Broken Camp by Atelier Luke. Photo: Luke Hayward
“The surrounding landscape is as important as the building itself. ”
Broken Camp by Atelier Luke. Photo: Michael Nicholson
Luke is uncomfortable about the label ‘Japanese inspired’. Are you?
Junko: It’s the same for me. We get inspiration from Japanese architecture and the way they put things together – details especially. But we are not trying to replicate. What we do is interpret the essence or feeling of things we like.That’s very different.
Broken Camp by Atelier Luke, a pavilion in the Byron Bay hinterland. Photo: Michael Nicholson
What’s next?
Luke: We’ve got a new house and another project on site in New South Wales, and another one in the early stages in Kyoto. We’re looking to grow the Australian side of the practice a little, especially as we’ve had to stay here during Covid. The pandemic has forced our hand and we’ve bought a small place to live in Sydney, where we’ll base our Australian leg of the business and continue to work in Japan.
