House N is a new house in Oita, Japan , by one of our favorites, Sou Fujimoto Architects. The house is a series of nesting boxes, another departure from a glorified 3 bedroom 3.5 bath architected ‘stravagazna. The Japanese are light years ahead of everyone else in this regard. Look no farther than the powerful, simple, and effective section for proof of this.
It is astoundingly transparent even as it is smartly layered to create privacy where needed. Of particular interest is the fact that the center box holds dining and living spaces , and not what westerners would generally try to hide away. The bed, er, area, something westerners would generally consider the most private area (leading to the warren of bedrooms we refer to earlier) is not in the innermost box, but in the second box, the semi-private layer. Of all the non-traditional houses we’ve got in our catalog, this one is one we’d like to live in. Or at least design a copy of for ourselves.
Designer: Sou Fujimoto Architects
Photographer: Iwan Baan