Minimal Facades Around the World

The black facade of the Yatabes’ house may turn a darkly futuristic face to its suburban block, but behind it the house is full of light. In Saitama, a tightly packed neighborhood near Tokyo, the black metal screen affords the family privacy without sacrificing outdoor space.

The house's stained-cedar cladding makes a stark but pleasing contrast to the natural foliage of the site.

This bright white home in Fujisawa, Japan, facilitates outdoor living within its walls with pockets of open interior space.

The house sits on a slope, atop blue concrete and ceramic tiles. A set of web-shaped stairs (right) flow like a waterfall onto the blue floor. Photo courtesy Z-A Studio.

When building such a modest structure in a large landscape, designer and client often had to defend their vision to their collaborators. “We knew this house was going to be for Maggie and she would live there alone,” designer Lauren Moffitt says. “But people are always projecting for future resale. Putting in the smallest size of anything—to any subcontractor, it’s just not reasonable.”

"We created a bosque of ironwood (Olneya tesota), one of our most cherished indigenous tree species,” Debra explains.

A trap-door opening at the top of the house allows for better circulation.