Let us speak once more about the new combined with the old. However this time we offer you a somewhat different approach: the old house has been demolished and a brand new house reappeared instead. A small, contemporary house which now fills in the narrow void between a row of buildings in Ghent. Continue reading →

A house has a primary function of shelter and refuge, protecting its inhabitants from the outside world. This concept of asylum can also be seen in the animal world, especially the turtle case. A full-bodied shell guarantees the safety of the turtle while providing a strong visual appearance. In Miyagi, Japan there’s a unique residence that assembles the concept of this peculiar creature: House Yagiyama. Continue reading →

It’s difficult to believe that this beautiful and unusual house, in Wellington, New Zealand, was built on a site with so much restrictions. The original house, situated next to our object, was constructed in the early 1900-s and is historically listed. That’s why the new structure had to be kept lower and non dominating over the old house. In addition to that, the site itself is dramatically steep and quite small. However, all these restrictions made overcoming the challenges even sweeter. Continue reading →

At some cases an architect’s mind really strikes us with the ultimate of ideas! This project is one of such stunning cases. The Polish architect Jakub Szczesny noticed an extremely narrow space between the side elevations of two apartment house blocks and was excited with a void stripe, so unexpectedly discovered by him in one of the residential quarters of Warsaw.

His moment of inspiration resulted in a brand new single person home! A wild and bold idea – however it got its client attention, an Israeli writer, Etgar Keret. The architect said that the building presented “a fantastic set of impossibilities”. Let’s take a closer look. Continue reading →

In Osaka, Japan there’s a narrow house that captures our attention with its singular bright appearance… Built for a family of four (parents + two kids) in a very tight urban site, this three-story building replaces an old residence suffocated by the lack of natural light due to its closeness to the surrounding buildings. Continue reading →

Are you familiar with Micro Machines? The Original Scale Miniatures (called either “Micro Machines” or simply “Micros”) were a line of toys originally made in the mid 1980’s and throughout the 90’s.

Well, at the beginning of the 21st century, a tiny house for students was created in Sweden. And Micro is definitely the right word to define this 94sq.f. home, radically organizing the minimum functional needs for a student to live in a very modest way. Continue reading →

Architecture often reveals the most outstanding results when it comes to dealing with full privacy. In Hiroshima, Japan an unusual windowless metallic facade defines the boundary between the city and the domestic space. This apparently “blind” inhabitable volume is called House in Saka… and behind this small walled world, a compilation of gardens and terraces are waiting to be discovered. Continue reading →

I would describe this house as a separate flat, taken out of a residential house and set separately as an independent unit. The apartment is located on an extremely limited site and is itself extremely small. However, it allows you to perceive this house as something airy, and the reason for the unusual exterior of the house! Continue reading →

In Kyoto, Japan, a little tower is proudly shinning in its suburban surrounding… I’m talking about the W Window House, a three story building with a tall silhouette that has a total floor area of 72 sq. m. However, the most outstanding detail of this small narrow house is the improbable balance that was created between this shimmering steel building and its lower vernacular neighbors. Continue reading →

A box in box… A usual concept for architects mainly used to solve various challenges. In Tokyo, Japan, a concrete house explores this unique conceptual solution. A three story building with a total floor area of 99 sq. m. plays a curious volumetric game with two different “boxes”. One proclaims a heavy appearance being firmly rooted into the ground while the other aspires a lighter suspended condition. It’s almost like concrete and glass working as Siamese twins! Or simply a reminiscent image of a drawer pulled out from a box… Continue reading →