Japanese Minimalism: The Ant House

This minimalist residence is the Ant House project, designed by Makinohara-based design studio mA-style Architects, completed in 2012.

1 | Architect: mA-style Architects

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Located in Shizuoka, Japan, the ambiguous space has been created devoid of partitions to make free use of the space and enable the home dwellers to constantly see each other during daily life, which goes against the typical preconceptions of a Japanese home.

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Describing the conceptual process, the architects tell us: “First of all, we drew simple rectangles without any daring idea on the ground for suiting 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 could also be a passage. In the middle of first and second, we created a free place. Top of the space there 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 evening you can hear the birds singing.”

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A married couple with three children inhabits the modern Japanese house that from the outside appears as a black cube, with an outer wall that screens the interior from the outside world completely. Once the door is opened, the warm yellow of larch plywood invites you in, and opens up before you like an ant’s nest.

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Via Adelto

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Concrete Stack and Glass House

This Glass House, by NAF Architect & Design, located in Hiroshima, Japan, is based around a basic stacking system of concrete blocks each measuring 1.0 m x 1.0 m x 1.5m. The concrete is placed one on top of the other like simple building blocks, resulting in an unusual structure that displays varying degrees of undulation pattern.

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Surplus factory cement is readily reused in Hiroshima rather than discarding, and as this nature of block can be manufactured at any standard cement factory in the area, this selection of building material is a cheap one, though rather time constraining; the construction of this dwelling depended fully on the operation situation of the surrounding factories and the pace at which these blocks could be obtained.

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In order to lift the blocks by crane, a groove was cut on the surface of the blocks, and when the blocks were stacked vertically this groove also became a place to slot reinforcing steel rods to provide earthquake resistance.

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Sheet glass walls have been installed to form the weatherproof perimeter of the living quarters.

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The structure appears cold and industrial at present, but the intention is to plant numerous vines of various flowers along the harsh gray blocks, which will transform the structure into a hill of greenery and natural beauty in future years.

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Via Contemporist

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