A Nurturing Family Home

Ehime Prefecture, Japan – Takashi Okuno Architectural Design Office Project Year: 2017 Developed Area:  256.0 m2 ( 2764.8 Sq ft2 ) Photographs: Shigeo Ogawa Usually known for its small living area, Japan’s Ehime Prefecture provides this home a lot more space than the usual Japanese homes. Built with a contemporary and traditional Japanese look, this house is a […]

Takasugi-an, “A Tea House Built Too High”

Nagano Prefecture, Japan – Terunobu Fujimori Photography: Edmund Sumner Teahouses are an essential component of Japanese culture.  They are very quiet. restful places typically designed and built by the owners to increase intimacy with the space. Takasugi was designed and constructed by architect Terunobu Fujimori on a family plot in Chino, Nagano Prefecture. The tree-bound tea house sits atop […]

Green Oak Writer’s Studio

Los Angeles, USA  –  Bertram Architects Built Area: 18.5m2 (200 sq ft) Designed as a quiet space with minimum distraction for a writer.  Furniture is plain and built in to both maximise the available space and avoid distraction. Here are the architect’s notes: “Inspiration for the home office came from the “Russian word пустынь or poustinia (which literally means […]

Black Tea House

Česká Lípa,  Czech Republic  –  Lenka Křemenová, David Maštálka / A1Architects Built:   2011 Area:   Veranda – 10m2 (108 sq. ft.)   Interior – 3.5m2 (38 sq. ft.) Traditional Japanese teahouses are as much a refuge from the chaos of life as they are a ceremonial focal point.  But the concept and meaning has spread to […]

Hat Tea House

Ostrava Czech Republic – A1 Architects Does it seem a little incongruous to find a classical Japanese tea house in suburban Ostrava, Czech Republic?  Initially, probably, but why shouldn’t a Czech – or Briton, Canadian or New Zealander, seek the same sense of calm that the Japanese have found for centuries in their back yard tea houses? […]

Forest Pond House – a meditation space and playhouse

 Hampshire UK – TDO Architecture Area:     6 m2  (64 sq ft) Year Built:     2012 Photography:     Ben Blossom The Forest Pond House is in rural Hampshire.  Designed as a space for both meditation and a children’s den it sits at the bottom of a family garden in a wooded area overlooking a pond. […]

Like a glove – the Dovecote Studio

Snape Maltings, England – Haworth Tompkins Year built:     2009 Photography:     Philip Vile Dovecote:  A shelter with nest holes for domesticated pigeons. Snape Maltings was an abandoned industrial site before being reborn as a music and art centre by none other than Benjamin Britten. The existing ruins used here, once formed a two-storey brick dovecote. The ruins […]

The Many Faces of a Polyhedron

Habitable Polyhedron Bogota Columbia – Manuel Villa Built Area:     7.5 m2 (81 sq. ft.) Year Built:     2009 Photography:  Sergio Gómez Originally designed for the backyard of a couple with a young child who wanted a “shelter” while enjoying the outdoors, the Habitable Polyhedron obviously has many possible uses.  Guest accommodation, a home office or a […]

Windows

West Virginia, USA – Nick Olson & Lilah Horwitz Photography: Half Cut Tea   Click on any image to start lightbox display. Use your Esc key to close the lightbox.

The Kernan Teahouse

Stoney Creek, CT  USA  –  Naomi Darling Architecture Photography by Sean Kernan This stunning, minimalist teahouse is in Stoney Creek, Connecticut.  Designed by architect Naomi Darling, it features local and recycled materials to achieve a simple elegance. The stone came from a local quarry, while bamboo was harvested on-site.  The roof is made of recycled metal. “Tea, […]