Japanese skinny house reaches skyward

Like Vietnam’s many skinny houses, this 2.5-meter-wide (that’s approximately 8 feet) house in Kobe, Japan, takes advantage of its narrow site and reaches skyward to maximize livable space—and light.

Japanese studio FujiwaraMuro Architects designed the so-called Tiny House on a 22-square-meter plot (about 237 square feet) to encompass three dynamic floors, a staircase at the rear, and a central void topped with skylights that allows sunlight to filter down through the level.

The 63-square-meter (678 square feet) residence is clad in knotted timber, with the first floor incorporating an opening for a garage, at the rear of which is the main entrance. On this floor are the bathroom (separated into a toilet room, bathtub, shower room, and sink) and sliding-door storage.

A wooden staircase leads to the main level, where a kitchen, dining area, and living room are contained. To create a sense of compartmentalization among the spaces, the living area is one step down from the dining area, a part of whose floors are outfitted with wooden slats. This allows light from the skylight a floor above to stream all the way down to the ground level through a void that connects the top two floors. The dining table is made of glass to further facilitate light penetration.

The void is lined with shelves that start above a storage shelf in the dining area and extend up toward the third floor all the way to the skylight, creating a visual, vertical connection. Here, a master bedroom and a child’s room are placed on opposite sides of the void, with a gallery rail in the small hallway peering into the dining space below.

Via: Dezeen