Criss-crossing wooden beams fill a void inside Studio Aula's Cocoon House
A grid of chunky timber beams criss-crosses a void between the ground and first floors to allow light to circulate in this Studio Aula-designed house in Shiojiri, Japan (+ slideshow).
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_10.jpg)
The client asked local firm Studio Aula to design a house in a typical urban neighbourhood that integrates traditional Japanese elements and makes the most of the existing garden.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_7.jpg)
A narrow plot informed the elongated footprint of the building, which also incorporates a ground-floor bedroom that projects out in front to accommodate the client's elderly mother.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_9.jpg)
This bedroom helps to shield a secluded garden containing an old pine tree, as well as a series of stepping stones that create a pathway to the front door.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_13.jpg)
The entrance sits on a raised concrete plinth, which also supports a small wooden deck sheltered beneath a balcony and the house's eaves.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_12.jpg)
A sliding door with vertical slits allows light and breezes to enter the interior and leads to a long corridor lined on one side with built-in storage.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_14.jpg)
The corridor continues from the entrance past the living area to a covered porch and parking space at the back of the property.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_15.jpg)
As the rear of the property faces a road, the architects built a storage space with a wall of slatted timber that references traditional Japanese screens and restricts views from the street.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_20.jpg)
"We created a multipurpose entrance to the north and the south garden that functions as a corridor and a storage space but also becomes a public space to connect inside with outside and to greet visitors," the architects explained.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_16.jpg)
On the other side of the corridor is the open-plan living, kitchen and dining area, which can be screened off from the hallway by sliding across a door fitted with translucent panels.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_17.jpg)
The solid wooden beams form a geometric grid above this space, supporting bedrooms on the first floor.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_3.jpg)
Light enters this floor through windows and glazed balcony doors. It permeates the central void and the slatted balustrades and floors surrounding it.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_5.jpg)
Floors and ceilings throughout the house are made from wood that complements the structural beams and columns and provides a warm contrast to the grey tiles of the entrance corridor and the white walls.
![Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_21.jpg)
Photography is by Ippei Shinzawa.
![Ground floor plan of Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_22.gif)
![First floor plan of Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_23.gif)
![Elevation one of Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_24.gif)
![Elevation two of Cocoon House by Studio Aula](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Cocoon-House-by-Studio-Aula_dezeen_25.gif)