The Home That Glows in the Dark

Daisuke Tokuyama told Japanese architect Makoto Tanijiri that he wanted a light-filled home for his family of five—a tall order, considering his narrow property in Hiroshima was boxed in on three sides. To creatively solve the problem, Tanijiri skipped conventional walls altogether and wrapped the entire three-story steel structure in polycarbonate plastic. "We were able to mix categories that are usually separate," says Tanijiri. "Walls became windows and windows became walls." Thanks to its translucent envelope, the house glows firefly-fashion at night and is so "super bright" during the day that Tokuyama says he rarely turns on a light.