The Moriyama House by Ryue Nishizawa

Here's another Japanese home that sheds traditional notions of what a house "should be" and in so doing realizes a unique and functional place for living. This is the Moriyama House by Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa. This interesting collection of prefab boxes is home to both the owner and several rental tenants, who share a mix of public and private spaces in this self-made community. You can read about it in the Dec/Jan '07 issue of Dwell - the house was the cover story. You can also see the complete floorplans for all three levels of the structures, as well as several 360 degree views via QuickTime video, at The Japan Architect.


The spare simplicity of the structures satisfies my own minimalist streak very nicely. My Mom once said, when my wife mentioned we wanted a modern home, "You want to live in a white box???" Well, if it's something like these in the Moriyama House compund, then yes.

This house (or these houses, really) isn't for everybody. But it works for the people who live there. And that's what a house is supposed to do, isn't it. Does yours?

Image Credit - Dwell site