Contemporary Japanese architecture has gained international recognition through its ability to reinterpret spatial principles within innovative forms. Among its leading figures, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa—independently and through their collaborative practice SANAA—have developed a distinctive approach integrating environmental responsiveness and spatial continuity. While Japanese architecture has been extensively studied globally, scholarly attention in Iran remains limited, with architectural discourse largely dominated by Eurocentric perspectives. Nishizawa's 2025 Tehran lecture, Architecture and Environment, provides a primary source for examining his reflections on design and, where relevant, the projects undertaken through SANAA, within the Iranian context. Addressing this gap, this study investigates eight projects by Nishizawa and SANAA through a theoretical framework based on design thinking and the formation of space in relation to environment. The research employs directed qualitative content analysis based primarily on Nishizawa's 2025 lecture, supplemented by exhibition materials, project documentation, and secondary literature. Three analytical criteria were developed: Problem-Setting Logic, Conceptual Framing Strategy, and Design Response and Material Resolution. The findings identify a recurring three-stage design logic in which site-driven constraints generate project-specific conceptual frames, consistently privileging spatial continuity over enclosure across institutional, community, and residential scales alike. Rather than reproducing established forms, Nishizawa and SANAA translate spatial principles—continuity, boundary ambiguity, integration with environment—into contemporary strategies. The study concludes that the selected projects provide a valuable model for contemporary design and offers a potential transferable methodological framework for reframing spatial strategies in response to present environmental and urban challenges, with particular relevance for Iranian architectural discourse and design education.