It's easy to get the winter blues in Sapporo, a city in the northernmost region of Japan , where snow regularly piles up over 16 feet during the frosty season. So when Japanese architect Ryo Yamada embarked on building his own house in Sapporo, he sought to craft a dynamic home with an "ever-evolving interior," one that'll keep his family entertained throughout the dead long winter. Completed two months ago, the first iteration of the 880-square-foot residence is like one big timber obstacle course (hey, how else will they get exercise?), with a grid of wooden beams and pillars.
This network of beams and pillars, spaced out at the same intervals found in historic Japanese wooden buildings, currently holds up two small "tree houses," seen used as play spaces in these photos. However, as the architect writes in a statement, it's always possible to add or remove tree houses based on the family needs or changes in the outdoor scenery.
· Nakanosawa Project / Ryo Yamada [ArchDaily]
· Dreamy Woodland Dwelling Gives the Teepee a Modern Twist [Curbed National]
· Tokyo's 'Sandwich Apartment' Squeezes in a Raised Micro-Unit [Curbed National]