Japan Houzz Tour: A Crisscross Design Brings a Family Together
The family in this home worried they'd always end up in separate rooms. This layout makes sure that won't happen
杉田真理子
5 February 2020
Atop a gentle slope overlooking Sakai City, near Osaka, Japan, stands a cubic home. Inside, it’s laid out like crossroads, with rooms at every corner connected to the dining area in the centre. This unique layout helps open up the space and brings the family together.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Sakai City, Japan
Who lives here: A married couple with a five-year-old son
Land size: 246.55 square metres
Building footprint: 65.61 square metres
Internal floor area: 110.21 square metres
Architecture: Yoshihiro Yamamoto and Kaori Mihashi of Yoshihiro Yamamoto Architects Atelier
Structural design supervision: Ippei Yasue’s Workshop
Building: Masaki Construction Company
Once this couple welcomed their first child, they started thinking about making a home for themselves. They briefly considered renovating a large city apartment, but they had wanted a freestanding home for a long time. In the end, they decided to go for a house in Sakai, where the husband works.
The architect, Yoshihiro Yamamoto, was the husband’s old classmate. The latter particularly liked Yamamoto’s casual air and likeable personality and the project was completed in April 2017.
Location: Sakai City, Japan
Who lives here: A married couple with a five-year-old son
Land size: 246.55 square metres
Building footprint: 65.61 square metres
Internal floor area: 110.21 square metres
Architecture: Yoshihiro Yamamoto and Kaori Mihashi of Yoshihiro Yamamoto Architects Atelier
Structural design supervision: Ippei Yasue’s Workshop
Building: Masaki Construction Company
Once this couple welcomed their first child, they started thinking about making a home for themselves. They briefly considered renovating a large city apartment, but they had wanted a freestanding home for a long time. In the end, they decided to go for a house in Sakai, where the husband works.
The architect, Yoshihiro Yamamoto, was the husband’s old classmate. The latter particularly liked Yamamoto’s casual air and likeable personality and the project was completed in April 2017.
The home’s exterior juxtaposes a yakisugi, or charred-cedar wall finish, against a brightly coloured roof. The home’s shape is fundamentally iconic: square sides with a triangular roof, and nearly all the windows are square as well.
“Although it’s a small space, it’s surrounded by hills and neighbouring houses on three sides, so the aim was to provide a nice view while protecting privacy,” says Yamamoto.
“Although it’s a small space, it’s surrounded by hills and neighbouring houses on three sides, so the aim was to provide a nice view while protecting privacy,” says Yamamoto.
The home’s entrance features an almost floor-to-ceiling cupboard. This image shows the view from just inside the front door. Down the narrow corridor and to the left is the doma, a space that traditionally includes a packed-earth floor, which broaches the transition between inside and out.
While it is often considered rude to wear shoes inside a home in Japan, shoes may be worn in this transitional space. In this home the doma is used as a storage area.
Keen for your home to reach its full potential? Find an architect near you on Houzz to discover the possibilities
While it is often considered rude to wear shoes inside a home in Japan, shoes may be worn in this transitional space. In this home the doma is used as a storage area.
Keen for your home to reach its full potential? Find an architect near you on Houzz to discover the possibilities
The family store bicycles, wet-weather gear, cleaning supplies and other equipment in the doma. It’s not closed off like a private room, but is connected to the living space on the floor above it and is separated by a wall.
The white door in the centre of this image opens into the spacious basement, which the husband uses for work and hobbies.
The white door in the centre of this image opens into the spacious basement, which the husband uses for work and hobbies.
The main room, located on the floor above, is an open-plan space with a white colour scheme. Dark iron on details such as doorknobs adds a chic contrast.
The room’s focal point is an extra-wide set of stairs. This was a request of the wife, who likes to sit on the steps and enjoy the view of the garden.
The dining room is just above. As it’s only the staircase that separates it from the rest of the house, it helps connect family members in different rooms. The oak timber floors are stained in shades of walnut.
The room’s focal point is an extra-wide set of stairs. This was a request of the wife, who likes to sit on the steps and enjoy the view of the garden.
The dining room is just above. As it’s only the staircase that separates it from the rest of the house, it helps connect family members in different rooms. The oak timber floors are stained in shades of walnut.
The homeowners enjoy a snack in their kitchen/dining room
Upstairs from the main room is the heart of the house: the kitchen/dining room. The space above it is divided into four square corner rooms, with the kitchen acting as a kind of crossroads between them.
The family were worried that they would always end up in separate rooms if they were available. One of the features they found appealing in this design was that the floor plan lets them roam naturally throughout the house, as everything is interconnected and there are no partitions.
“I wanted to highlight the shape of the ceiling, so I designed the room so as to bring in light,” says Yamamoto. “Embedded ceiling lights would have been a poor fit visually, so I went for a rail duct with lamps and carefully hid more lights in the walls of each of the four private rooms.”
Upstairs from the main room is the heart of the house: the kitchen/dining room. The space above it is divided into four square corner rooms, with the kitchen acting as a kind of crossroads between them.
The family were worried that they would always end up in separate rooms if they were available. One of the features they found appealing in this design was that the floor plan lets them roam naturally throughout the house, as everything is interconnected and there are no partitions.
“I wanted to highlight the shape of the ceiling, so I designed the room so as to bring in light,” says Yamamoto. “Embedded ceiling lights would have been a poor fit visually, so I went for a rail duct with lamps and carefully hid more lights in the walls of each of the four private rooms.”
This central space offers easy access to all the other rooms, including the living room. The wife says that when she’s cooking, all she has to do is crane her neck a little to see her son playing in the living room below.
Facing the kitchen is a balcony that makes up one of the four private corners and is reached by a staircase constructed from a kind of metal mesh made by cutting and stretching sheet metal. The large windows light up the whole room.
Although Japanese homes tend to have separate rooms for the toilet and shower or bathtub, here all three functions are combined.
The couple’s son loves his bedroom, which is situated in another corner of the house. A skylight offers a glimpse of the sky.
The ceiling is made up of four triangles that stretch from the edges of the walls and meet at a single point, making the room feel like a piece of modern art.
The ceiling is made up of four triangles that stretch from the edges of the walls and meet at a single point, making the room feel like a piece of modern art.
This Japanese-style room is used as a guest room.
It and the couple’s son’s room feature pass-through windows that offer a view of cherry trees growing on the hillside, boldly connecting these private spaces to the outdoors. The picturesque landscape tastefully embellishes the home’s decor.
Your turn
Are you as charmed by this thoughtful layout as much as we are? Tell us what you like about this design in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Would you like to peek inside more creative homes around the globe? Read this Houzz Tour: A Surprising Intervention for a Typical Post-War Home
Your turn
Are you as charmed by this thoughtful layout as much as we are? Tell us what you like about this design in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Would you like to peek inside more creative homes around the globe? Read this Houzz Tour: A Surprising Intervention for a Typical Post-War Home
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Hi - just wondering how the looks of the floor in the doma of this house was achieved? Is it packed earth as indicated?
love this, quirky and accessible, and it feels like a family home. Love the stairs, I also like to sit on stairs and having a garden to breathe in - Wonderful! love their son's room! It's a great idea to have the rooms linked and yet maintain privacy. Love the outside, too, color of the roof, the wood. It made me happy!
It looks like polished concrete in this case. Actual Doma is packed earth using lime-based or/and diatomite based mortars. I have never done the process myself but well made Doma can be looked like polished concrete.
E.K. Riley
Hi - just wondering how the looks of the floor in the doma of this house was achieved? Is it packed earth as indicated?