It being Fall Colors month here on AT we've seen a multitude of homes painted with wonderful, rich colors. But sometimes we need a little break from all the color. Not only can a home successfully blend interior and exterior spaces, House N inverts its use of color — allowing the house to be an aperture where the existing colors of the surrounding neighborhood are enhanced and showcased...
Designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects, House N is located in Oita, Japan and organized as a series of 3 nested shells. The largest shell contains an exterior courtyard, the second defines the interior space of the home, and the third and smallest shell contains living and dining room spaces. The overall effect is a blurring of interior and exterior space and color.
This blending of public and private space allows the stark white home to frame and intensify its surrounding colors by creating abstract views through the shells. Interestingly enough, it also works from the outside-in as seen in the drawing below.
We love using color in our apartment to create depth and interest but we are in awe of the designer's restraint, allowing the context of the home to provide the richness of color that is decidedly absent from the house. It makes the structure which might seem foreign intimately connected to its site.
What do you think? Could this color concept be applied to existing homes and apartments? Should those lucky enough to have interesting views from their windows do less to the interior and allow the exterior to come in and be enhanced?
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wow- just wow...
view wendi_c's profile
I think if the surrounding neighborhood had any color to be seen, this could be more interesting, but it appears as bland as the interior is.
I don't need a riot of crazy, saturated color to be happy, but this absence of any color is depressing.
Plus it's an absolute fishbowl. Who could live with so little privacy???
view LilyC's profile
I honestly love the design and concept of it from an architectural perspective, but I want to see more shots of it. You can't beat using natural lighting in the home and in this case, depending on it entirely during the day. I love having the outer courtyard, as well; I'm a sucker for atriums and interior yards.
Could I live in it? Probably not. Would I want a tour of it? Most definitely.
view Kimber's profile
All white only works here because of the clean architecture and brilliant daylighting....
...the same all-white pallete applied to a typical ranch house or McMansion with little windows facing the neighbor's stucco walls, low ceilings and beige nylon carpets would be drab and dull.
Context is everything.
view bepsf's profile
LilyC, I might be mistaken but I believe the house is built in layers (like an onion) with the more private living areas being in the center and less exposed as the outer layer, the courtyard.
view Kimber's profile
I'm assuming the trees planted in the interior are intentded to grow in and provide another element to the design (as well as some privacy) as shown in the sketch, at which point I think it will look amazing. As of now, it's awkward and bare.
view amt230's profile
I agree with Wendi_c.....wow - just wow!
view james79's profile
I think it's gorgeous, however I do have to agree with LilyC, the abscence of color would be depressing after a while, at least for me.
I like the onion idea, and I think it's great that they have the trees inside! :)
view eccentriffic's profile
So ... I guess it doesn't rain sideways there like it does here?
Nonetheless, quite, quite beautiful.
view lizzapearl's profile
Wow -- when those trees are grown, imagine how different the amount and colour of light will be between summer and winter. Natural AC.
view marlo's profile
You can see a better slideshow of House N here:
http://iwan.com/photo_House_N_Sou_Fujimoto.php
Think of the second shell, the middle one as being the exterior of a normal house with really big windows, and yes, that is where the glass is in the openings. The most inner shell creates the more or less personal spaces in the house. The larges, outer shell, is on the edges of the property, and is a 3D delineation of the front garden, turning it into a courtyard. By the way the openings are stacked and shifted, privacy is maintained, and people are sheltered from the elements.
view FJ!!'s profile
I think this home is just glorious, and though I don't know that I could justify a use of space like this, perhaps it's not that different from having a small house with more space set aside for the yard. I've fantasized before about putting a teak Balinese hut inside a glass box filled with jungle in SF, and I can't wait to have money of my own for experimental architecture.
As far as the rain goes, I'm assuming that the intermediate shell must be glassed in, since the trees are intended to grow through the outer one, though that still means the outer shell must have been made resistant to rain damage in some way. I especially like the view that shows a clear line of sight from the inner room up through the roof to the sky.
What I can't figure out is how they're able to have tree roots growing under their foundation safely. I'd agree that it would be nice to see the bedroom and bathroom (and kitchen?) areas. Looking at the architect's website, the built area is 164 sq m and the floor area is 90 sq m, which is pretty tiny for such a spare look.
view greenplum's profile