About Kashimo Studios Australia

KASHIMO STUDIOS

Kashimo Studios offers a unique fusion of Japanese and Australian style in a versatile, compact living space. The structural elements are crafted from Hinoki (Japanese cypress) and Sugi (Japanese Cedar) timber sustainably sourced and detailed in a Japanese mountain village. The framing timbers are exposed in the interior to showcase traditional Japanese joinery techniques.

We are proud to offer a beautifully-crafted studio-style space that can be comfortably and affordably tailored to meet the Exempt and Complying development codes for detached studios and granny flats.

These compact spaces can be constructed relatively quickly with minimal site disturbance. As extra living spaces, home offices, guestrooms, adults’ or kids’ retreats, outdoor-living spaces, yoga studios, libraries, a tiny home, or Air BnB accommodation, these distinctive studios can functionally and aesthetically meet a wide range of needs.

JOHN TOTENHOFER

John Totenhofer, Director of Kashimo Studios, offers this elegant design with expertise accumulated through thirty years of hands-on experience in the Australian building industry. Prior to this project, he was a partner of a successful building company Buildwrights Design and Construction. John’s apprenticeship in solid timber staircases taught him discipline and an appreciation for the nuances of well-blended form and function. In each of his four years of apprenticeship, John won Apprentice of the Year and was recognised as third in Australia for work skills. The principles that earnt him this recognition carried through into his building company where John enjoyed the challenge of crafting high-end work with dedicated attention to detail and finish. John’s connection and creativity with timber is a natural progression of his family’s lineage; his grandfather cut timber in north QLD in the 1890s and his father began work in a timber mill at 13 years of age  and eventually ran his own mill in the Alpine Ash forests of the snowy mountains.

In formulating this design John has collaborated with Nakashima Constructions of Kashimo village, Japan. Their collective passion for timber craftsmanship has resulted in a productive creative partnership.

Nakashima Construction

This unique opportunity resulted from a Japanese friend. Shin had his home built in Tokyo by Nakashima Construction company located in Kashimo, Gifu Prefecture Japan. The company’s management of the timber was deeply impressive; from forestry and revegetation, timber milling and construction of high-end homes, the process accommodated the entire life-cycle of the timber. The practices resonated with John’s values and the partnership began. The flexible design incorporates age-old, traditional joinery techniques and the beauty of Hinoki and Sugi timber, it also meets our Australian building standards and lifestyles.

John is excited to share these beautifully-crafted compact living spaces as a sustainable, creative endeavour born of a cross-pollination of tradition and aesthetic.