The Huntington Japanese Heritage Shoya House

Pasadena, CA

Details

  • Size: 3,000 square feet
  • Completion Date: 2023
  • Sustainability: LEED Certified

Awards

  • Award of Excellence for Historic Preservation, SEAOSC Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards

Team

  • Architect: M. Okamoto & Associates, Inc.
  • General Contractor: Snyder Langston

The 3,000 square foot Japanese Heritage Shoya House was originally constructed in Marugame, Japan approximately 320 years ago. Built as a magistrate’s house and center of village life, the home was passed down through a single family for generations, and donated in 2016 to the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

Painstaking relocation from Japan to California and seismic stability of the structure, which features mortise and tenon joints and natural wood trunk and branch features, was a multi-year collaboration between local experts in both countries. New wood shear walls, hold downs, and foundations were delicately integrated to maintain the cultural and architectural integrity, while offering public occupancy within current building code parameters.