Murakami
It takes me about a year to read a book, not because I am a slow reader, but because when I read, I immerse myself in imagining the spaces described in the text as vividly as possible. The settings evolve and become more detailed as the story progresses, but design is not a linear process. My mind constantly reimagines a scene, refining it until it reaches its final form. I sketch my designs directly onto the book’s pages, taking notes on the space’s atmosphere—lighting, views from windows, materials, furniture layout, even the contents of bookshelves or pantries—breathing life into the scenes and making them feel real. It’s a playful design exercise, treating the text as a fictional client. I imagine this is similar to how production design or art direction works for films.
After reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, I took my fascination with imagining spaces a step further by designing one of the structures from the book using architectural software and creating a scale model to bring it to life. I enjoyed the process so much that I did it again for The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I’m currently working on a new design for Killing Commendatore and will share the images when it’s complete.
