A two-story house of a strange shape. What do you think?Where is this strangely shaped house located? Probably, many of you will immediately say that there is only one country where it will look quite organic and will not cause universal amazement. This is a country of crazy inventions, themed cafes and strange structures, among which you can see incredibly compact, environmentally friendly, and requiring almost no operating costs. That's right, it's Japan. Is it worth explaining what features of the Japanese real estate market have forced local designers to experiment like nowhere else? It is better to introduce you to another example of this phenomenon: a house designed by specialists from the Mizuishi Architects Atelier bureau. It is located on a tiny piece of land of irregular shape, but its architecture makes the most of every centimeter of space, allowing a family of three to feel cozy and comfortable in it.
The house is located in a small village in the prefectureNiigata. Its living area is about 55 m2, which is significantly larger than the plot size, which is achieved by having a cantilever level that projects significantly beyond the façade at ground floor level. This unique canopy, among other things, serves as a shelter from the sun and rain for the parking space. According to architect Kota Mizuishi, the context and building regulations largely determined the design of the building: “We had to deal with a limited-size, irregularly shaped plot, squeezed between residential areas and the river embankment, but we decided to take advantage of this. The building we designed follows its contours, and the cantilever level and hipped roof expand the interior volume.”
The living room, kitchen and dining room occupy the second floor, where windows on both sides fill the space with natural light and give a feeling of flight, in the words of the architects.
Above, on the mezzanine, there is a family play area.a room reached by a staircase. It is a compact room with a triangular vaulted ceiling in which two windows are made so that the inhabitants of the house can admire the stars.
The lower floor contains a bedroom and a bathroom.room, separated from each other and the hallway not by walls, but by curtains. The designers wanted to create a feeling of openness and spaciousness, but we can only guess how protected these areas are from street noise, given that a busy highway runs right nearby.
It is quite strange and even sad that in manycountries, huge mansions are still trendy, despite the crisis in the housing market and rising maintenance costs. Tiny energy-efficient homes have not yet become, so to speak, mainstream, but the increase in the number of projects like the one we have just told you about gives hope for a radical change in the situation. Most likely, this will happen, provided that public policy, cultural traditions and demand all look in the same direction. Do you think this idea has prospects for development?
A house of strange shape designed by Mizuishi Architects Atelier
