Memories...
When I saw this house on Dezeen today, it brought me back to Japan in an instant. It's not just the cool design, but also the little peek into the neighbor's yard that made me get all misty-eyed.
This house was built in Fukuoka (one of my very favorite cities) on land inherited by the resident's grandparents. It's quite common in Japan to tear down the old structure where your parents or grandparents lived and build a modern one its place. It seemed like a new house was going up every week in my old Tokyo neighborhood. Of course, they don't all turn out as interesting as this one. I love the contrast between the warm wood and the concrete. And all the open windows make the place nice and bright.
The places in my new neighborhood are mostly charming older houses, but maybe the basement wood be a fun place to try and do up in a modern Japanese style. Judging from all the realtor pictures I've been checking out, it looks like most people pretty much ignore the space altogether. Better to try something fun and different than nothing at all, right?
Photographer: Koichi Torimura.
Source: Dezeen
Architects: Masao Yahagi Architects
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