Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Houzz Tour: Modern Home Earns High Honor in Japan
Inventive roofs and a unique spatial composition redefine the very nature of a family home and earn an award for the architect
This house in Nagoya, Japan, is probably far from what you'd imagine a typical family house should look like. Yet for architect Tomohiro Nata, the house represents both a lifestyle and a design philosophy: The family coexists in spaces that allow for community and connection as well as privacy and individuality.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their 2 kids
Location: Nagoya, Japan
Size: 1,076 square feet
That's interesting: Architect Tomohiro Hata and his design firm won the 2011 World Architecture News House of the Year award for their work on the house.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their 2 kids
Location: Nagoya, Japan
Size: 1,076 square feet
That's interesting: Architect Tomohiro Hata and his design firm won the 2011 World Architecture News House of the Year award for their work on the house.
| Curious passersby often stop in amazement to look at the metal-clad structure. One of their first thoughts is likely, Where's the front door? Although seemingly complex, Hata's composition for the house is relatively simple. Five small rooms were initially drawn next to one another so that each structure's pitched roof faced the same direction. Then Hata and his team edited the composition by alternating the order of spaces to flow in the order of room-void-room-void-room. |
| The night setting and ambient lighting make it easier to find the entrance, recessed in the street-facing corner and next to the family's parking lot. |
The kitchen (behind the bar) and living room are pictured here. The kids' rooms are directly above these two gathering spaces; the kids can look down to see what's going on downstairs.
The terrace (background) and the ofuro bath (foreground) flank the semienclosed courtyard.
Hata's client sits on the sofa, which is within earshot of the kids when they're on the terrace.
This upper-level perspective shows the playful spirit of the house. It also highlights the ingenious way each of the five structures interweaves to form one unit.
| Bookcases in the den mark the end of one corridor. |
An open door invites you into one of the upper level (kids') bedrooms.
| The house's alternating pitched-roof pattern creates a series of triangular windows (above right) throughout the house — one of the many ways Hata pushes our understanding of the typical family home. |
| Storage units are flush to the floor and marked by built-in handles. |
| |
A night photograph of the home's east elevation shows the composition and shapes of windows throughout the house.
Floor plans of the lower level (this photo) and the upper level (next) clarify the seemingly complex weaving of private and public spaces in the house.
Click photos to enlarge floor plans.
Floor plans of the lower level (this photo) and the upper level (next) clarify the seemingly complex weaving of private and public spaces in the house.
Click photos to enlarge floor plans.
Ideabook updated on July 2, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
Fortunately we are all different.
I must say that I have colorful art on my walls.