Traditional Japanese floor mats define the proportions of this house in Niigata, designed by Tokmoto Architectures Room as a strict grid of squares (+ slideshow). More about Tatami mats create gridded layout for Kenrak Tokmoto's Inari House
A metal roof completely surrounds this house by Japanese studio Suppose Design Office, sheltering terraces and a garden so that residents can use these spaces all year round (+ slideshow). More about All-encompassing roof frames terraces for Suppose Design Office's House in Utsunomiya
A pointy shingle-clad roof extends over this residence by Suppose Design Office and its garden, creating a sheltered outdoor area for cooking, reading and napping (+ slideshow). More about Suppose Design Office hides garden beneath oversized shingle roof of House in Anjo
Mitsuharu Kojima Architects has created a sloped green floor inside a house in Japan's Gunma Prefecture, intended to be reminiscent of a grassy hillside (+ slideshow). More about Mitsuharu Kojima creates curved grass-like floor inside Japanese family house
Japanese architect Kentaro Ishida has completed a steel-plated house on the outskirts of Tokyo, featuring an asymmetric pitched roof designed to maximise sunlight for residents (+ slideshow). More about Kentaro Ishida adds stripy steel skin to asymmetric house in Japan
Japanese architect Tomohiro Hata gave this ridged metal residence in Kobe a staggered plywood interior and a broad pitched roof that follows the sloping terrain (+ slideshow). More about Wide sloping roof shelters plywood-filled house in Kobe by Tomohiro Hata
A sliver of glass separates the two volumes of this bottom-heavy residence in Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture, which is made up of a bulky rectilinear base with a house-shaped block on top (+ slideshow). More about Shuhei Goto's Floating House in Ogasa features two-tone cladding and a 360-degree window
Bands of timber alternate with slices of glazing across the facade of this Tokyo house by Swedish studio Elding Oscarson, offering a degree of privacy while also exploiting views of the garden (+ slideshow). More about Swedish studio Elding Oscarson completes Tokyo residence with a striped facade
The faceted volume of this concrete mixed-use block in Tokyo is punctured by a series of holes that form windows, balconies and open-air stairwells (+ slideshow). More about Tomoyuki Kurokawa Architects completes Tokyo building covered in holes
This two-bedroom family home in Japan is small but tall, so that residents can look out and see the foliage of neighbouring Japanese elm trees (+ slideshow). More about Compact wooden house by Takeru Shoji Architects stands alongside 200-year-old trees
The wooden framework of this Japanese house by Akasaka Shinichiro Atelier will allow the owners to adapt the lower floor into a photography studio or children's room (+ slideshow). More about Akasaka Shinichiro Atelier uses timber framework to create adaptable house in Japan
These four house-shaped volumes may look like individual homes but they actually define different areas of the same residence, designed by Shuhei Goto Architects in Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture. More about Four gabled towers form House in Kosai by Shuhei Goto Architects
An indoor basketball court forms the atrium of this family home in eastern Japan by local firm Koizumi Sekkei (+ slideshow). More about Koizumi Sekkei completes house in Japan with a basketball court at its centre
Corrugated plastic surrounds a sunroom at one end of this timber-framed residence by Japanese architect Yoshichika Takagi, which also features a pair of house-shaped bedrooms (+ slideshow). More about Wooden home by Yoshichika Takagi features attic bedrooms and a translucent sunroom
A patio-like corridor surrounds the ground-floor rooms of this house by Takeru Shoji Architects, replicating a traditional space in Japanese farmhouses known as a doma (+ slideshow). More about Go Bang House by Takeru Shoji Architects references traditional Japanese farmhouses
A large white box is raised on stilts to create the upper floor of this house in Japan, sheltering a smaller ground floor and entrance from the heavy snowfalls that Hokkaido Prefecture experiences in winter (+ slideshow). More about Top-heavy house by Archi LAB designed to minimise snow buildup
Stripy metal panels wrap the exterior of this Japanese house apart from a section at the front, creating a visual effect that prompted architect Takeru Shoji to name the building after a cardigan (+ slideshow). More about Metal skin wraps the exterior of Niigata residence by Takeru Shoji Architects
Tokyo studio Naf Architect & Design designed this house in Niigata to fit around a narrow driveway, which doubles as a space for outdoor get-togethers during the neighbourhood's annual lantern festival (+ slideshow). More about Roadside House by Naf Architect & Design has a driveway that doubles as a party space
Six slabs of wafer-thin concrete form the floors and walls of this house by Kubota Architect Atelier, which cuts into the side of a mountain in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture (+ slideshow). More about Thin concrete planes define mountain home in Japan by Kubota Architect Atelier
This family house in Shiga, Japan, is made up of two structures – a simple two-storey block set on a patio, and a small timber pavilion that opens out to a landscaped garden (+ slideshow). More about Maibara House by Alts Design Office combines a windowless block and a small garden pavilion