House of Vision is a private home in Shiga, Japan by FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects that is designed to shield the client from neighbours.
Completed last year, the house features largely blank exterior elevations but has large windows looking onto an enclosed central courtyard.
Photographs are by Takumi Ota.
Here's some info from the architects:
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House of vision
The lot is located at the foot of a hill where the fields and houses are mixed together.
The client’s desire was “to live while feeling nature without being bothered by looks from the neighbors”. To make the best use of the lot, the planning was designed to enclose the lot with the trench extended beyond the building, and to provide an interior courtyard as the center.
The enclosed space clips images from the surrounding landscapes, creating a comfortable outdoor living room that is not exposed to the outside world.
The position of each opening is carefully designed in consideration of “what to take in and what to conceal”.
Specifically the position and form of the opening of the living/dining room with kitchen on the second floor is most effective in concert with the interior.
In this house, the most important theme is “how to close/open” in the open environment.
Architects: FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects
Location: Shiga, Japan
Client: Private
Construction Year: 2008
Site Area: 327,97m2
Constructed Area: 181,74m2
Photographs: Takumi Ota
so wanderful~~~~a western building with eastern soul
Looks like a bunker / jail / caslte?
so beautiful!!!
beautiful! I love the swing area in the courtyard.. so beautifully done
Though I understand the sentiment, the last image bespeaks of a shut-in.
it’s superfantastic!!
Nope, doesn’t work for me. As Vielledent says, “a bunker” or the Japanese Rapunzel’s castle … pity the poor little girl, swinging all alone in that courtyard.
Super nice _ Beautiful in its simplicity and minimalist approach, yet warm and welcoming inside. A bold fusion statement.
why do you want to shut out the beautiful landscape outside in the first place? and the inside is too claustrophobic.
Makes me wonder what’s wrong with the neighbours.. some beautiful images but also a beautiful setting. What’s the point of that if your dining table faces onto a window looking straight onto a blue wall??? curious. still, I like the retro 50s feel of some of the interiors – reminds me of feel of Wong Kar-Wai films like ‘mood for love’…
Looks nice, but impossible to live in it. Imagine your running children in these rooms…
Just puzzled by the inconsistency of modern house designs by Japanese architects — they seem to have ambivalent feelings of being introvert and/or extrovert; in particular, allowing sunlight or daylight into the house! Their architectural design caters to both extreme of claustrophobia and exhibitionism (depending on the clients mental condition?!) as far as window treatment is concerned! I mean they build right in the middle of rice fields yet seemingly afraid of pollution and have air conditioners built-in into the rooms.
something you need to experience before you understand..
It's true… It is so hard to understand unless you've experienced it, these tiny images don't allow the viewer this access.
Fascinantes espacios.
Muy buena arquitectura.
I love how this house is designed for those intimate moments in life, it's almost like a set waiting for the actors to make it come alive, a real vision, cheers!