Located in the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto, the ‘O house’ by Hideyuki Nakayama Architecture is a kind of lean-to structure extending from a main 2-storey house.
The O House space is somewhat like a passage garden. Inside is a curved horizontal space, where a portion of the staircase, thin steel frame floor and equally lined fittings are found. The gable side of the house shows its dollhouse conditions, which are open and visible from the adjacent street.
By spending time going back and forth everyday through this passage garden, the residents can see the small and hard to grasp shape of the main house from outside in various angle. The volume of the house can appear like a tower, or a castle wall depending on the location to look at.
There was no intention from the beginning to bring in the exterior into the interior, or release the daily life of the resident to the surroundings. However, there was such a thought of providing a depth to the extent of life produced within the cityscape, site ground and the house – which architects have never felt before.
