M-House – Japan

M House

Nagoya Japan  –  D.I.G. Architects We’re fascinated by a lot of modern Japanese architecture.  It’s incredibly innovative.  It has to be.  There is not a lot of available building land in Japan.  Every square centimetre that can be farmed, is farmed.  The rest is mountainous.  Add to that, very haphazard historical ‘city planning’ and the […]

Daylight House – looking to the sky

Yokohama Kanagawa JAPAN   –  Takeshi Hosaka Architects Year:  2012 Built area:  85 m2  (920 sq ft) We think this home is an elegant solution to a common problem in many crowded cities – a bad outlook… in fact, an outright ugly outlook!  The lot is surrounded by high density housing so any conventional windows would […]

Outside In House – Japan

Outside In House - Takeshi Hosaka Architects

Yamanashi, Japan  –  Takeshi Hosaka Architects Photography:  Koji Fujii Nacasa & Partners Inc Built:   2011 Area:   102m2  (1,100 sq. ft.) Maybe it’s bias and maybe it’s fact, but we consistently find amazing innovation in the work of Japanese architects.  Is it a function of the small and often, irregularly shaped lots? Perhaps Japanese […]

The Nest

The Nest by UID Architects

Onomichi City, Hiroshima Japan  –  UID Architects Lot size:     362 m2 (3,909 sq. ft.) Built area:    121 m2 (1,306 sq. ft.) Photography by:      Hiroshi Ueda It is always wonderful to see a truly unique design. Even the name, ‘The Nest’ is so appropriate. If you look closely, you will see that there are […]

Sea Ranch Residence

Sea Ranch, California – Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Built area: 1,030 sq. ft. house, 550 sq. ft. guest house   (95 m2 + 51 m2) Year completed: 2007 Photography: David Wakely A pleasant mix of simplicity, atmosphere, timber hues and the view make this home a special place. The whole is further enhanced by the natural […]

A House Divided

Taipei, Taiwan – Ganna Studio The challenge… a small home owned by two designers both wanting to work from home! The need to be able to separate the working areas from the ‘home’ areas, while retaining a sense of space, was considered paramount. The architects achieved the separation by using a series of embossed, swiveling […]

House KN – a box with a window on the world

House KN by Kochi Architect's Studio

Miura, Kanagawa, Japan  –  Kochi Architect’s Studio Site area:   223 m2 (2,408 sq. ft.) Built area:   172 m2 (1,858 sq. ft.) We’ve often flagged the challenges designing in Japan raises.  The blocks are often very small and, just as often, irregularly shaped.  Then add to that the usual lack of any outlook other than […]

Rockhouse

Rockhouse. a healing home...

British Columbia, Canada – Sandrin Leung Design Build Built area: 111.5 m2 (1,194 sq. ft.) Year built: 2009 – 2010 Photography: Ana Cristina Sandrin “The Rockhouse is a courtyard home organized around a large rock bluff in a gesture of embrace. From the first visit to the site we felt the very strong spiritual/natural presence of this rock. We […]

Small Home in Horinouchi

Small Home in Horinouchi

‘House in Horinouchi’  –  Suginami, Tokyo   MIZUISHI Architect Atelier site area: 52.14 m2 building area: 29.07 m2 total floor area: 55.24 m2 Most of us would have difficulty visualizing what a 52m2 (570sq ft) building lot looks like.  Think 7 metres x 7 metres (22′ x 22′).  Now turn it into a triangle, add some building code challenges and […]

Levya 506 – melding the past and the future

Cuernavaca, Mexico – APT arquitectura para todos Built Area:     100 m2  (1080 sq. ft.) Construction:     APT arquitectura, Vicente Barragán Hernández Photography:     Luis Gordoa Renders:     Edgar Saúl Bahena Cruz Levya 506 is a melding of the past and the future of the oldest neighborhood of the Mexican city of Cuernavaca. The site […]