All Photos/exterior/roofline : curved/building type : house/siding material : glass/roof material : shingles

Exterior Curved Roofline House Glass Siding Material Shingles Roof Material Design Photos and Ideas

Organic lines mimicking those in nature can be soothing. Architect Tono Mirai, known for his "earth architecture," was inspired by the lush context for the design of this holiday home in Nagano, Japan.

The asphalt shingles that clad the exterior curve into the window openings, and an awning over the entrance appears to peel away from the facade. These details create the appearance of a skin wrapped around the entire building. The rammed earth walls are combined with seven-inch-thick wool insulation for thermal comfort.

The window and door frames are mainly crafted from cedar. They sit within the curved shell, which has deep eaves that protect the interior from the sun and reference traditional Japanese architecture.

The home is elevated about four feet above the ground to avoid moisture from the forest floor. The entire ground-floor living space opens up to a timber deck through sliding glass doors.

The home’s entrance is a timber door set into the “shell.” This leads into the heart of the ground-floor living space, which opens out to a timber deck.

The clients requested “architecture that is unusual, beautiful, and does not make you feel old in time.” Over the years, the timber and earth used to construct the home will develop a rich patina.

The shell is closed to the west and north elevations and open to the east and south elevations—an arrangement that responds to the location and orientation of the house in the forest.

In the L-shaped home, one wing houses the public rooms—living, dining, and kitchen—and the other the bedrooms, with the master on the curved end opposite the living room.

The site’s views face south and the neighbors are to the north, so Edwards Anker positioned the thick, curved walls of the house on the northern side for privacy, while the glass planes capture the setting and ocean breezes. "It’s a very lucky orientation," says Edwards Anker. The house gains its name—Cocoon—from the curved walls.