Kikuo Shinoda’s former home was not ideal. “It had few rooms and no private space for my child,” he says, adding that “it was cheap and could be found anywhere, with no sense of comfort. We didn’t want to spend time there.”

On a site in Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture that has open fields to the south, architect Tomoyuki Sudo of SAAD Architects designed something that would better suit Kikuo’s family. At first glance the new home evokes a barn with its pitched roof, but with a curved facade and swooping roofline on one side, it reinterprets a standard gable.

The brief to Sudo was for a living room with lofty ceilings, and large south-facing windows to make the most of a view of a viaduct in the distance. Natural light was also critical, as was “a simple, clean interior, a primary bedroom and two bedrooms for their daughter and a future child on the second floor, as well as another room that can be used as a hobby room or study,” Sudo shares.

He placed the house on the lot’s southeast corner close to a neighbor and positioned the driveway on the west side, which created room for the entry. This side of the home has the curved facade, which extends the building footprint slightly into the parking lot, manifesting the Japanese spatial concept of ma: an in-between space or ‘absence’ that is integral to the concept of the whole. It also adds visual interest to the structure’s monolithic feel that’s created by its black galvanized exterior.

“The curved surface of the west façade, with its ribs, has a gentle rhythm and softens the black building. The expression of the curved surface changes with time when the sun travels from the south to the west,” says Sudo. The black surfaces were requested by the client, “but it is also effective in bringing out the minimalist silhouette of the building,” Sudo adds.

Skylights and large south-facing windows make the home brighter while enhancing airflow. “The skylights bring natural light into the double-height entrance hall, creating a welcoming atmosphere. The large openings bring air through the hallway out through the skylights to cool the entire building, making life in hot Gunma more comfortable,” Sudo highlights. He used the bedroom windows to “frame the scenery like a picture that captures the passage of time,” he says.

At night, the gable-roofed house glows like a lantern. The white interiors, chosen by Sudo to evoke a Scandinavian feel, gleam against the darkness. Lighting was critical for him. “It can be bright inside, while indirect lighting and lamps reproduce the pale light of a moonlit night,” he says. “It is as if day and night come and go in the same house, creating a single world.”

To keep construction costs in check, Sudo designed the home with standardized ceiling heights from level to level. But the shifting spaces still have a dynamic feel. “The intention was to create a contrast between the first and second floor by differentiating the spatial balance, so that the differences in the spaces can be felt and enjoyed on a daily basis,” he explains.

“We wanted the windows in the bedrooms to frame the scenery like a picture that captures the passage of time.”
—Tomoyuki Sudo, architect

The dining room chairs are from Carl Hansen & Søn, the dining table is from Time & Style, and the lamp is Flos." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Akari Kuramoto" photoUserId=""/>

The family is delighted with their new home, even if it is compact at roughly 720 square feet. “The living area is so open and cozy, so we want to spend more time indoors,” Kikuo says. “Our favorite space is the living room with the large window. It functions as a family room with a studio where my wife creates art with my daughter.”

When his daughter is in the playroom upstairs, she plays the piano and hides her favorite toys. “She understands the feeling of a secret space,” says Kikuo.

More from SAAD:

A Holiday Home in Hokkaido Echoes the Textures and Topography of Nature

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: SAAD / @saad_architects

Team Members : Tomoyuki Sudo, Mimi Okuhara

Builder: Omnibus inc.

Engineer: Keikakukobo