House in Kashiba by Naoko Horibe

The clients for this small house in Japan had one key wish, a bath with an outside view. To meet that request on a small lot, architect Naoko Horibe designed a courtyard at the front of the house. The courtyard provides light and fresh air to both floors of the 85.6 m² (921 ft²) house while maintaining the occupants’ privacy.

The house has a reverse floor plan: the main living space is on the upper floor. From the front entrance, a hallway leads towards the back of the house where stairs go up to the main living space. As is very often the case with new small houses, the kitchen, dining and living rooms are combined. The living area opens to a large balcony overlooking the courtyard at the front of the home.

The ceiling follows the line of the shed roof, rising from the balcony towards the back of the house where there is a flexible-use space. The flex space is separated from the living area by the stairwell and an open wall. It could be treated as part of a larger living/dining area, or used as a more private study/den. It could also be provided with a solid dividing wall to give the small house a second bedroom. As it is, the one bedroom is on the ground floor, at the back of the house. The ground floor also has the spacious bathroom, including soaking tub with view, and a large storage closet.

Enjoy the photo gallery! As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photographs by Kei Sugino, courtesy of Naoko Horibe Architect.

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