Located in Japan, this family home is quietly modern, relying on contemporary details rather than outlandish overall architecture to create a welcoming current-day atmosphere. Facet Studio, an architecture firm located in Sydney and Osaka, took on the task of creating a home structure enough to accommodate a fairly large family, but intimate enough on the design front to feel like home. At the same time, the design team had to balance the need for livable minimalism with a desire for contemporary style. The result is a house that looks clean and sleek outside, and hosts a unique and engaging interior. Public and private spaces are clearly defined by a single long wall down the center of the structure, complete with shelving to save space. Different rooms have different levels of integration with each other due to the variable nature of interior ceilings. The house contains a number of interesting innovations, but still manages to feel completely comfortable.
The home’s exterior is fairly unadorned and almost conventional in style, with privacy fencing in place to block the view inside its large front windows. The rooftop carries a very slight angle, resulting in two floors of livable space without a tall profile.
All of the building’s wide and tall front windows serve additionally as sliding doors, disappearing into the wall for the purposes of opening up the residence to its environment on days with favorable weather.
Inside, plywood is the most prevalent design element. While exterior walls and some fixtures have a smooth white-painted finish, all interior walls and ceilings are constructed from an inviting light-colored wood.
A number of the dwelling’s major systems and entrances are built into a single wooden shelving wall that splits the entire structure’s first floor. Air conditioning vents and doorways into private rooms are all integrated into its storage cubbies.
Some of the shelving extends past the ceiling of the rooms on the other side, creating open shelves for display items that also serve as barriers for anyone standing above each room.
On both ends of the house, the symmetrically angled roof creates a triangular space filled by large glass panels, bringing even more natural light to already airy spaces.
The ceiling varies in height throughout the house; some rooms have conventional ceilings to keep them private, while others join an open-air overall space partitioned by single-story walls.
The one second-floor space of the home is a master suite complete with a private study, set on one side above the garage.
Facet Studio
via Designboom
