Minimal Japanese Homes

Thanks to its translucent envelope of polycarbonate plastic, the house glows like a firefly at night and is so bright during the day that resident Daisuke Tokuyama says he rarely turns on a light.

Yurika Ninomiya says good morning to busy central Nagoya from her third-floor bedroom while husband Takuya opens up the shop and gallery that they run below.

Concrete planters frame the facade—a union of monolithic slabs that offers privacy and compositional integrity to the building. The exterior is a plaster finish over insulation and concrete.

Imai House by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates Sasaki also loosened up the potentially confining space with an excess of natural light. High windows in the main living area bath the space in natural illumination, while the staggered series of smaller windows in the children’s rooms function like portholes. Photo provided by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates

The unusual configuration produces new relationships between a terrace and a room.

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.