01 · Resorts & Hospitality
Where architecture becomes part of the stay.
Retreats, lodges, spas, and destinations resolved around arrival, water, view, and quiet.
KUUKAN 空間
Architecture that holds
the feeling of a place.
Resorts, residences, and cultural spaces designed from Tokyo — shaped by light, landscape, and the way people move through them.
View selected spaces →The idea
A space is not finished when it looks complete.
It is finished when people want to stay.
We begin with the site: the direction of light, the weight of the view, the quiet route from arrival to rest. Every wall, opening, roofline, and piece of furniture is resolved around that experience.
Three scales
From private rooms to shared interiors.
02 · Private Residences
Homes shaped around rituals.
Arrival, gathering, privacy, light, and quiet — ordered into rooms that hold daily life.
03 · Cultural & Public
A softer frame for community.
Libraries, lounges, and shared interiors that give public space the warmth of a private one.
Selected space 01 of 6
Enfolded — resort lodge.
A roofline drawn from the land itself. The building folds into the site, opening toward the view while holding the interior in quiet shadow.
Type
Resort / Hospitality
Location
New Zealand
Year
2024 — 2026
Project index
Seven spaces, one system.
Each project resolves the same questions — light, flow, material — at a different scale, in a different country.
01
Enfolded
Resort Lodge
New Zealand
02
Light Veil
Residence
Taiwan
03
Niseko Residences
Residence
Japan
04
Book Forest
Cultural Lounge
China
05
Verdant Cove
Spa
China
06
Tate-Shige
Residence
Japan
07
Timeless Fusion
Interior
Japan
Spread 01 · Niseko Residences
A winter residence gathered around warmth.
A mountain residence shaped for long stays: warm timber, low winter light, and rooms arranged around gathering after the snow. The architecture keeps the view present without making the interior feel exposed.
Residential study
Spread 02 · Light Veil
A tower of light, drawn vertically.
A residence organised around a central atrium. Daylight enters from above and is filtered by a soft, perforated screen — the building reads as a single quiet column from arrival.
Residential study
Spread 03 · Book Forest
A reading room as forest understorey.
Timber columns rise into a soft canopy, shading a public reading floor below. The building behaves like a quiet, vertical landscape — a place where people slow down before they realise it.
Cultural study
Process
From site to atmosphere.
01 · Site
Light, view, climate.
Arrival sequence and orientation define the first geometry, before any wall is drawn.
02 · Flow
Movement first.
Rooms are shaped around where people pause, gather, retreat, and return.
03 · Material
Wood, shadow, stone, fabric.
Materials are chosen for how they change the feeling of the space, not for their image.
04 · Delivery
Concept to documentation.
We design through every phase, coordinating with local partners across countries.
Sitework
The page should show the work before the render.
A studio page feels more credible when it includes the messy middle: site walks, frames, scaffolding, and decisions made before the finished image. This keeps Kuukan from feeling like a portfolio dump and makes the architecture origin story more believable.
Studio
A Tokyo studio working across borders.
Mililab is led by architects and designers trained across Japan and international practices, with collaborators across Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Tokyo-ledStudio based in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Five countriesProjects across Japan, Taiwan, China, New Zealand, and beyond.
Two disciplinesArchitecture and furniture under one studio.
Local partnersCountry-specific delivery teams per project.
The Lab
The people behind the spaces.
Kuukan is designed by a compact studio of architects, product designers, digital specialists, and visual collaborators. The team works across architecture and furniture so the same sensibility can move from site plan to table edge.
Livert.L
Co-Founder / Director
Architect and design director shaping Mililab’s work across space, furniture, and digital systems — with a focus on feeling, flow, and precision.
Miku, Mengfei.W
Co-Founder / Product
Brings an intuitive, material-led sensibility to the studio — reading the emotional weight of a room before it becomes a drawing.
Raymond.L
Partner / Architect
Detail-focused architectural partner supporting concept development, documentation, and the translation from spatial intent to buildable logic.
Djordje.C
Creative Director
Shapes the visual language around Mililab — turning architectural atmosphere into images, campaigns, and public-facing stories.
Xingwang.X
Digital Lead
Connects design scripts, models, and production workflows — helping the studio test geometry before it becomes space or furniture.
Rin.M
Creative Intelligence
Bridges strategy, editorial systems, research, and digital operations so the studio’s thinking stays coherent across every surface.
CollaboratorsTony F. · Architectural Designer
Ksenia M. · Architectural Designer
Ksenia M. · Architectural Designer
LanguagesEnglish · Japanese · Chinese
Work modeTokyo-led studio with remote collaborators and local project partners.
Join the Lab
We are looking for thoughtful designers.
Not louder portfolios — clearer thinking. We work remotely with people who care about proportion, documentation, atmosphere, and the patience required to make quiet work strong.
Architect
Support residential and hospitality projects through design development and documentation. This is a detail-oriented role for designers who can move from atmosphere to buildable drawings without losing the feeling of the space.
Scope
- Concept studies, plans, sections, and design development
- Rhino modelling, drawing packages, and coordination notes
- Material, lighting, and furniture integration studies
Fit
- Strong Rhino workflow and clear drawing discipline
- Architectural portfolio with residential or hospitality work
- Clear English communication and reliable remote cadence
Send CV + portfolio PDF under 20MB. Selected applicants may receive a small paid test brief.
Internship
A focused digital design immersion for students or recent graduates who want to work across architecture, interiors, furniture, and visual research.
Scope
- Competition research, precedent boards, and spatial diagrams
- 3D modelling, image studies, and layout support
- ENWA furniture-in-space tests and product context studies
Fit
- Portfolio showing taste, patience, and spatial sensitivity
- Rhino, Adobe, or rendering workflow preferred
- Available for a consistent weekly remote rhythm
This is not a volume-production internship. We care more about judgment than speed.
How to apply
Send CV, portfolio PDF under 20MB, and a short note to studio@mililab.co.
Subject line: [Role] Name — Nationality
Send CV, portfolio PDF under 20MB, and a short note to studio@mililab.co.
Subject line: [Role] Name — Nationality
Begin
Tell us about the space.
A residence, a retreat, a cultural project, or a place that needs a quieter kind of architecture.
studio@mililab.co Portfolio PDF coming soon