A facade designed to look like a picture frame outlines a courtyard garden at this house in Hiroshima by Japanese studio UID Architects.

Named Frame, the two-storey house was designed by UID Architects with a two-layer facade, comprising a black outer skin with a clean white wall behind. The courtyard garden is slotted in between and forms the house's entrance.

The pebbled floor of the courtyard continues into the house, wrapping around a wooden staircase that runs along behind the windows.

Bedroom and bathroom areas sit on the ground floor, while the first floor opens out into a spacious living and dining room with a study on one side.

Light penetrates the house through a long narrow skylight that spans the roof, as well as through large openings in the facade.

"In this house you're able to live feeling the gentle breeze and daily sunlight as much as possible," say the architects.

We've featured five residences designed by UID Architects, including a house where circular hollows create sunken rooms and a timber home constructed at the foot of a mountain.

See more houses by UID Architects »
See more Japanese houses »

Photography is by Hiroshi Ueda.

Here's a project description from UID Architects:

Frame

The house aims the space such as one integral room which is 7m×7m+X. There are bedroom and guest room, washroom and bathroom in the ground floor, also LDK and study room on second floor because of referencing around site environment surrounded 3 ways. Basically the house is designed like one integral room which is 7m×7m while considering to make each space as small as possible.

In addition to that, the yard space set to road which connect to outside as extension of interior wall. Therefore we can feel the extra space more than physical extent space.

Furthermore by setting this wall, it can connect to outside of area smoothly as ensure the privacy. On the second floor, it could be possible to get lighting inside without affection by around site environment from the top light which exists north to south. Regarding yard, we can feel south side lightning from LDK to study room integrally by setting yard on north to south. And also it could be comfortable study room owing to constant sunlight of north direction by locating study room to north side. In this house it's able to live as feeling gentle breeze and daily under the natural sunlight as much as possible in interior room.

Architects: UID architects – Keisuke Maeda
Consultants: Konishi Structural Engineers, Toshiya Ogino Environment Design Office
General contractor: Hotta Construction Co.Ltd.

Structural system: wood structure
Used materials: wooden flooring (flooring), spandrel (wall), plaster board (ceiling)

Location: Hiroshima-City, Hiroshima, Japan
Site area: 132.23 sqm
Built area: 57.85 sqm
Total floor area: 111.43 sqm
Date of completion: January, 2012