Sitting on a tiny plot of land, this townhouse in Tokyo defies its size and manages to seem fairly open and spacious, thanks to smart moves by its designers at Japanese firm Niji Architects. The studio designed the tiny house to occupy a 31-square-meter plot (that's just 333 square feet) in Tokyo's Takaban neighborhood. The townhouse features a svelte steel frame wrapped in stark white-metal cladding, capped by a steep pitched roof that crowns the two discrete, identical units (clocking in at about 387 square feet each!) inside. An internal partition wall—running diagonally east-west—gives the house its unique interior character. The living spaces are on the ground floor, a spiral staircase leads up to the bedrooms and kitchen, a ladder leads to the mezzanine floor, and floor-to-ceiling windows let ample light in. The coolest bit of the design, perhaps, is the sense of depth created in the house with light: A skylight helps illuminate all three of the structure's floors.
∙ Gabled townhouse in Tokyo by Niji Architects is clad in strips of white steel [Dezeen]