Anton Wormann, a Swedish fashion model turned architectural innovator and building antiques dealer, has embarked on a transformative journey that bridges Swedish and Japanese design principles: the revitalization of Akiya (abandoned houses). This integration is clearly visible in his projects in Tokyo, where he combines the minimalist elegance of Scandinavian design with the traditional beauty of Japanese architecture.
Wormann’s approach to renovation, known by his social media moniker, ‘Anton in Japan’, is heavily influenced by his upbringing in Sweden, where the preservation and restoration of historic structures is a valued practice. Growing up in a 120-year-old house in a Stockholm suburb, his parents did most of the renovations themselves, while Anton and his sisters played in the garden amid the mess of building materials – which eventually prompted the siblings to to build their own ‘fortresses’. as Wormann calls them, from leftover wood.
Speaking from his most recently acquired akiya in Tokyo’s Shin-Nakano district, Wormann explains how the approach he grew up with can conflict with the way things work in Japan.
