Designed by Future Studio, this lively Japanese city abode makes a tall statement as a single home among apartments and townhouses. Built in an area with little possible shade cover on a lot exposed to more than enough sun throughout the day, many of its design elements are directly intended to provide just the right amount of sun without overheating or blinding occupants. As with many Japanese designs, this house is quite unique and very upbeat in style, formed around an oval building shape. Square windows and a right-angle rooftop contrast the curving walls of the structure, and are placed irregularly to stimulate further visual interest. Furthermore, the actual finish of the walls is uncommon and noteworthy, diffusing light while creating a one-of-a-kind optical effect.
Inside, the color palette of the house changes from grey to white but its design philosophy stays the same. Its rooms are a study in minimalist modernism, with custom-fabricated fittings and rooms that follow wall curves instead of traditional squared-off definitions. As a further departure from the traditional, private spaces are downstairs while a single communal room occupies most of the building’s three-dimensional space, a reversal of traditional layout. Unique solutions for lighting are used throughout, including a large cut-out window in the living room that’s large enough to create its own outdoor loft on top of the residence. No matter where you look, this Hiroshima home is full of impressively lighthearted innovations.
The chic dwelling is finished in a non-reflective, rough finish made from a multitude of brush and rag rotations. Most of its windows are at the front and rear, with a few small ones on each side to provide light (but not a sightline for neighbors).
The front door has a small awning, mirroring its concrete step, to provide shelter from the weather. The door, matched in color to the home’s exterior, is minimally contemporary.
The dwelling’s front door leads into a curved, minimal greeting area, separated deliberately from any specific purpose or function aside from preparation and reception of guests. Spaces like this one help to open up the house and make it seem larger.
The left-side hallway leads up a flight of stairs to living spaces, but offers the option of branching off towards private rooms just before the ascent.
From the ground, it appears that the building is made up of three short levels, but in reality the upper two-thirds of the house are a single great room, encompassing living, dining, and recreation areas. The end of the staircase and a set of shelves along the wall are integrated into a sculptural piece following the wall’s curve.
A wall-length window at the top of one side of the space provides all the light needed during the day, but additional windows are placed on each side to visually break up the area regardless.
One side of the tall common room is a custom, ultra-modern kitchen, a spacious place with lighthearted design for prepping and eating food.
The tall deck is accessible easily by a short staircase, making it an outdoor loft space. Because of the worries of having a young child in the house and concern for keeping the exterior shape of the house uniform, the deck’s walls are fairly high and are not interrupted by slats or other openings besides a single square peephole.
At night, well-placed lights in the kitchen area and in the form of an artful installation on the wall light up, providing localized definition for important parts of the main room.
Angled spot lighting supplements ground-level accent lights to keep the living space fully visible at night, preventing the high ceilings from disappearing due to lack of illumination.
Each bedroom is placed at a corner of the house in the rear half of the bottom floor, with a bathroom in the middle. This means that both bedrooms have a quarter-circle shape, with light streaming inside in a controlled manner from intelligently haphazard windows.
The bathroom is the most conventionally-shaped room in the building, placed on the long, flat part of the wall line at the home’s rear.
Future Studio
