Ant-house | Shizuoka, Japan | 2012
[mA-style architects]

The outer wall of black covers the whole cube, and that screens the visual field completely. Inside the heavy door, the space turns to vivid yellow covered by larch plywood. It seems that the world has changed. It looks like a hiding place. This is the house where the married couple and their three sons live.

We planned an ambiguous space without partitioning a room. By doing so, it makes free use of the space. First of all, we drew a simple rectangle without any daring idea on the ground to suit the cost. Second, we set up panels along the line. Then, we lined the kitchen, washroom, desk and storage shelves. The space is like a room, but it also would be a passage. In the middle of the first and second , we had a free place. Top of the space is a gable roof, it makes a new blank in the house. The blank is free, the sunlight and the wind comes into the space from aperture. In the night time, we can hear the singing of insects and also can feel moonlight.

The space also enables us to see each other. The space that has no partition does not have the usual conception as a room. So, we can give the role for the space as our favor. In the cube which was covered by black wall, the very free world becomes larger like an ant’s nest. Text description by the architects.

Source: www.archdaily.com + www.ma-style.jp
Photography by: Kai Nakamura