Body and soul…A true building always captures our attention when it irradiates theses two qualities. Nothing is indifferent in the Copper House in the eyes of the beholder! A rusty skin structure nestled in a rural property in Talca, Chile.

This unique piece of architecture has 165 sq.m. of living space, surprising everyone with its unconventional volume and shape! The name simply defines it – Copper is the magical ingredient for this exquisite project, functioning as the outer skin for the roof and wall surfaces. Continue reading →

A garden for a house… Simply refreshing and unconventional architecture! Placed in Tokyo between two tall buildings, this tiny four-story house, with 66 sq.m. of building area, reveals itself to the street as a vertical garden!

Isn’t it strange that flowers vases and plants (along with the use of curtains) can really function as a facade, providing the required privacy and intimacy of a life at home? Let me introduce you to this fabulous project by Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa… All that emerges in this anonymous front is a full-height window, which becomes the main solution to separate interior from exterior spaces. Continue reading →

A virgin natural site is always vulnerable to intrusive actions such as constructions…In Otter Lake, Ontario, there’s a small holiday home that assumes the precious example of how to preserve safely the most wildest of landscapes! La Tour de Bebelles represents a fine testimony of a variety of strategies to minimize man’s impact on such remarkable surroundings. Continue reading →

As the name of the house suggests, this place is not only for living but also for dancing. The owners requested a dancing studio to be incorporated into the planning of their home. Since the plot is really small (1,094 sq. ft.), the ground floor of the house is designed as a parking space for two cars. The staircase leads upstairs to the first floor, where there is a living/dancing room and a kitchen.

The entire story has no windows and takes light from the glass parts of the floor between the first and second stories, near the outer wall. The mirrors which cover the walls of the living-dancing floor reflect more light from the glass openings and make the space seem larger than it actually is. Cunningly designed! Continue reading →

The use of sizes is conventionally associated to clothing… However, the universal art of fitting is a little bit different in some parts of the modern world. Some countries use characters for measure; other countries use numbers. In this particular case, I will use both systems to describe one fine example of how to fit a house into a tiny plot. Continue reading →

Some fight with the sea for the land (I heard they do so in Holland, and they actually do so in Venice as well), some build up a new piece of land amidst the sea (like the new airport in Japan).. The people to whom today’s project belongs to were apparently also struggling for a larger living space. Or they just wanted to impress… Which they successfully did. Continue reading →

We have already been amazed by the unbelievably small Japanese houses on tiny urban plots not once or twice. Yet still, modern Japanese architecture is so unique in style, so positive in form, so life-affirming in its ideas, that we can’t help adore it over and over again.

For me personally, it can be described as a manifest of young, unconventional, self-assertive life! So let us get acquainted with the following example of the Osaka House. Continue reading →

A white sculpture invites us to enter into an amazing housing project… The T-House is an enigmatic building for its reinterpretation of the conventional standards. In Tokyo, Japan this small house sits on the slope of a hill with a total space of 114, 47 sq.m. But let me guide you through this exquisite piece of art!

The house entrance is located at the street level, where two white walls break 90° to make the roof of the entrance staircase and swimming pool. Yes, it’s true! To enter this house, you must pass through a gap in the water that covers the entire entrance plan turning into a pool on the opposite facade. What a fine reception for both dwellers and visitors… Continue reading →

This Japanese project is not a tiny house this time, it’s actually an extremely unique apartment building. It has lots of open spaces, including open staircases, leading to four “huts”. The total floor area is 1,637 sq. ft., whereas the building area is 898.1 sq. ft. Continue reading →

This small cube home is a tree-loving private residence. Why tree-loving? Because it doesn’t want to interact with the street, it closes itself from the street; its simple geometric cube volumes on the lower levels are minimal, as if growing higher and higher, where finally opening up onto a large volume with a splendid window overlooking a blossoming cherry tree… Marvelous!! Continue reading →