People complain about the cost of land in Australia but land in Japan must be very expensive.
Would you want to build on a 30sqm triangular block?
Thats about the same size as some Australian driveways!
Although these photographs make the house look very narrow is does get a bit wider towards the back.
You can find more photographs on the dornob website where the interior shots make it look “deceptivly spacious” as the agents say!
I have certainly featured quite a few unusual japanese houses in the What The …… section, in the time I have been writing this blog.
This has made me start to wonder why Japan seems to have so many of these unusual houses?
After a bit of research I found there are several reasons, which are somewhat interrelated:
For a long time land has been very expensive compared with the cost of building.
This has encouraged people to look for ways of building on small and odd shaped blocks of land which require innovative approaches.
Historically houses in Japan frequently suffered earthquake damage which meant that rebuilding is frequently required.
People thus tend to think of the house as a rapidly depreciating asset that will have no value in 20 -30 years
Our own culture of liking to have the latest cars or consumer goods in Japan has extended to houses.
Many Japanese want a new house and because of the high land values are quite prepared to pull down a house that may be less than 30 years old to achieve that.
Having a distinctive design emphasizes the newness of the house.
There is little in the way of planning controls, which also makes it hard for neighbours to object to a ‘Way Out’ design.
As there is no culture of taking civil action for poor design Architects and Designers can to try more unusual designs without commercial risk.
Historically in Japan there is the ‘Salary Man’ culture of working for one company for life.
This together with the high land prices and rapid depreciation means many Japanese really do have one ‘Forever Home’ and they don’t build with an eye on resale value.
Would you look to see more unusual designs in Australia?
Why 2001. . . . Well I think the architects must have got their inspiration from the poster, on the right, from the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey.
The house was actually built in Hiroshima in 2007 by the Suppose Design Office.
If you follow the above link you will find more photographs and the several other interesting houses.
However I think this house may be going a little bit too far in reducing window size!
The house is by Japanese architect Takeshi Hosaka and is called Room Room.
It is located in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
I found the house on the web site www.dezeen.com, where you will find lots more photographs of the interior and exterior
No this isn’t the entrance to a big house . . . it’s the whole house.
It is another of those small Japanese houses
Those Japanese architects certainly don’t go for the McMansion approach.
If you want to see more photos of the house go to Dornob.com
Think some of the builders facades are a bit plain?…..How about this?
For more photos of this and to find out more visit Blank White Box on the dornob.com web site.
Ever wished you had the life of a garden gnome?
Just while away the days sitting in the garden with your fishing rod?
Then perhaps what you need is one of these Japanese dome houses.
To find out more go to bestofremodelling .com
