House in Sakuragawa

There has been a recent rise in popularity of a modern Japanese style house. The style seeks to make use of small spaces in a very efficient and beautiful way while giving the illusion of being larger than they actually are. Not only can they be more economical in their modest materials, but they seem to be catching on as a way of life for some. These houses are not built for luxury, but rather for simplicity and only providing you with what is essential. They evoke new and important ideas in architecture and the thoughts behind them can be used to generate designs for not only homes, but other types of buildings as well.

The House in Sakuragawa located near Tokyo, Japan, was designed by Japanese studio Suppose Design Office. The main concept and theme that drove this project was through the idea of connections. The three story house sits on a small 50 square meter corner lot located in a residential area across the street from a park.

The designers wanted to make use of the small lot and create the feeling of a much larger house through interior arrangements and also through a connection with the park. Interaction with the park comes from a large horizontal window on the second floor that was meant to make you feel like you were sitting there taking in the nature that surrounds you.

This connection was critical in the design as there was no room for yard space, and often in Japanese architecture, coexisting with nature is an important theme. The house uses a split level layout with no intruding walls to give the illusion of space and also to allow for natural lighting and communication between all three floors

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