So Hot Right Now // A House In A House.

G’day everyone and welcome back to our regular Stories on Design column where we curate and present some of the current design trends memes uncovered during our relentless daily design research. Today I’d like to talk about something I’ve been noticing a fair bit in the last couple of years – the concept of A House In A House.

The idea of house-like structures inside interior spaces is not so new. Perhaps it stems from our early childhood references that resonate so deeply with us all. Just think of Tree Houses. Or Doll Houses. Boy oh boy – I always wanted one of those puppies. You can think of today’s story as almost a contemporary grown-up version of a child-like Doll House. These are structures that contain a separate function within the greater space. They provide both a sense of enclosure and security, even a sense of escapism, and almost always manage to add a whimsical edge to any project. If you think about it for a little bit – right now it actually makes a lot of sense for us to seek and be drawn to spaces like these in our environments. Most of us live very busy lives. We are exposed to so much, and we are also exposed ourselves – both literally and figuratively. A House in A House allows us to escape, hide and feel extra safe. So it comes as no surprise that I have so many examples to share with you today.

‘HAZUKASHI HOUSE’ BY ALTS DESIGN OFFICE // KYOTO, JAPAN.

Images courtesy of ALTS Design Office.

Pointed doorways and openings throughout this family home in Kyoto, Japan, were designed by Sumiou Mizumoto and Yoshitaka Kuga of Japanese architecture studio ALTS Design Office to mimic the building’s gabled profile.

‘ANT HOUSE’ BY MA-STYLE ARCHITECTS // SHIZUOKA, JAPAN.

Images courtesy of mA-style architects. Photography by Kai Nakamura.

Japanese studio mA-style Architects has completed a metal-clad home with a smaller timber house inside. Located at the centre of the hose, the little structure contains living rooms on both levels, while bathrooms and storage are slotted inside on the ground floor.

Y + M DESIGN OFFICE // YONAGO, JAPAN.

Photography by Yohei Sasakura/Sasa No Kurasha.

Seven house-shaped blocks are sheltered beneath the large asymmetric roof of this house in Japan by Y+M Design Office. To give personal space to all five family members, the architects conceived the building as a cluster of small blocks – creating a makeshift village united under a single roof.

DI TELEGRAPH BY ARCHIPROBA // MOSCOW, RUSSIA.

Photo © Ilya Ivanov.

The Central Telegraph is located on Tverskaya street in the center of Moscow. Architect Ivan Rerberg constructed the building in 1927, and it took only several decades for it to become an architectural monument. The Telegraph has an unusual perimeter structure with both modernist and constructivist features; its surprising geometry and broad glazing distinguishes the building against a background of the Stalinist empire style of that era.

‘HOUSE MILNER SHMUKLER’ BY TRIBE STUDIO // SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

Image courtesy of Tribe Studio Architects. Photo by Brett Boardman.

‘House Milner Shmukler’ is a two-storey family residence in Sydney by Tribe Studio. The series of hovering boxes accommodate private spaces such as the bedrooms and bathrooms, while the more public spaces are defined underneath in the interstitial zones.

KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE FUTURE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS BY TENGBOM // SWEDEN.

Image courtesy of Tengbom. Photo by Sten Jansin.

Tengbom have designed the interiors of a project called “Future Learning Environments” for the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. “As part of the concept of the ‘Home away from home’ we have designed little cottages, a garden, a dining table, a living room and ‘rooms of one’s own’.” – Tengbom.

HOUSE IN FUKAWA BY SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE // HIROSHIMA, JAPAN.

Images courtesy of Suppose Design Office. Photography by Toshiyuki Yano.

Located in the suburbs of Hiroshima, House in Fukawa is a grown up version of a “treehouse” designed by Suppose Design Office for a young family of four. The house manages to squeeze in three bedroom boxes which cascade and suspend from the central “tree trunk” (a central staircase) – their unusual placement carves the space in unusual configurations.

Previous post // House in Fukawa by Suppose Design Office.

‘BELLY HOUSE’ BY TOMOHIRO HATA // KYOTO, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Tomohiro Hata. Photo by Toshiyuki Yano.

Japanese architect Tomohiro Hata has completed a house in Kyoto, Japan, that has a three-storey wooden house hidden inside it. The project involved constructing the exterior according to strict local guidelines, then creating a three-storey timber framework through its centre to further divide the space.

‘HOUSE WITH EMPTY LOT’ BY ON-DESIGN PARTNERS // FUJISAWA, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of ONdesign Partners. 

Japanese firm ONdesign (Osamu Nishida and Takanori Ineyama) have completed a timber house in Fujisawa where two sliced halves are connected by a shared living area. Resembling a dollhouse, the two open facades both overlook the triple-height living room, which is called the Empty Lot.

‘HOUSE T’ BY HIROYUKI SHINOZAKI // TOKYO, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Hiroyasu Sakaguchi.

There are huge rectangular holes in the walls and floors of this Tokyo house by Japanese studio Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects. Timber ladders connect each of the four split-level storeys and a staircase with built-in storage leads up from the ground floor studio to the dining room and kitchen on the staggered floor above.

‘HALLE A’ BY DESINGLIGA // MUNICH, GERMANY.

Images courtesy of Designliga.

Before it’s conversion by Munich design agency Designliga, Halle A was a metal workshop for a utilities company Stadtwerke München. The hall is part of the Heizkraftwerk Süd CHP plant complex, located to the south of the River Isar.

Previous Post // ‘Hale A’ creative Studio by Designliga // Munich, Germany.

‘HOUSE IN AMAGI’ BY ATELIER CUBE // FUKUOKA, JAPAN.

Images courtesy of Atelier Cube. Photography by Toshiyuki Yano.

Japanese firm Atelier Cube has recently completed the ‘House in Amagi’, a single-family detached home in Fukuoka, Japan. An unsystematic grid creates a strategic arrangement of internal partitions to divide the volume into spaces. Window cut-outs within each wall allow for unobstructed views to windows on opposing sides of the structure from the furthest distance within the volume.

NOT WONDER STORE BY REIICHI IKEDA // OSAKA, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Reiichi Ikeda. Photography by Yoshiro Masuda.

Not Wonder Store is a minimalist interior with a small timber house inside, designed by Reiichi Ikeda. The space is an atelier and clothing store for the Japanese fashion brand ‘Wonderland’.

‘SLEEPING PODS’ BY SIBLING NATION // MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA.

Images courtesy of Sibling Nation.

Melbourne-based design studio Sibling Nation, founded by eight young architects and University of Melbourne alumni, have created these Sleeping Pods. They are actually living & working dens made of plywood, connected by large steel threads, divided into sections, and are easy to dismantle and later reassemble. Perfect example of a temporary collective habitation.

‘THE PAVILION’ SYNOPSIS BY STUDIO M // DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

Image courtesy of Studio M. Photo © Sid Siva.

Located in Downtown Dubai, ‘The Pavilion’ is a dedicated non-profit contemporary cultural center providing a place to view, discuss and participate in work by local, regional and international artists. Studio M created an unexpected natural oak semi-enclosed “shed” structure sits at the far end of the space and there are no definite walls dividing up the spaces in a traditional sense.

‘HOUSE K’ BY YOSHICHIKA TAGAGI // SAPPORO, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Yoshichika Takagi. Photo by Seiya Miyamoto.

Japanese architect Yoshichika Takagi has completed a house in Sapporo, Japan, where the interior is divided by a series of structures with pitched roofs. Called ‘House K’, the project forms platforms and mezzanines on top of the house-shaped rooms, which are arranged around a central kitchen.

DENTAL CLINIC IN NAKAYAMATE BY TATO ARCHITECTS // KOBE, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Tato Architects. Photo by Yuko Tada.

Japanese studio Tato Architects started the renovation by stripping the interior back to the concrete and painting it white, before adding the translucent house-shaped enclosures to accommodate three separate treatment areas. This interior is the best cure for dentophobia!

‘SHELTER OF NOSTALGIA’ BY WORAPONG MANUPIPATPONG // BANGKOK, THAILAND.

Image courtesy of Worapong Manupipatpong.

These tree house-like cabins by Thai designer Worapong Manupipatpong were created for “Politics of ME”, an exhibition taking place at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in Thailand that is centred around personal experiences. The three timber playhouses overlap one another as they stack up around the column and ladders connect each floor to the one above.

A CABIN IN A LOFT BY TERRI CHIAO & ADAM FREZZO // BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

Images courtesy of Shawn Connell.

Designers Terri Chiao & Adam Frezzo built a cabin and a treehouse within this Bushwick loft to serve as private sleeping quarters. Each timber cabin has its own semi-private garden, set at both ends of the open loft. The pitched roof of the cabin and elevated floor of the treehouse make for interesting vertical appeal, while also mimicking traditional outdoor architecture.

‘BIRDHOUSE’ BY TAKATO TAMAGAMI // TOKYO, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Takato Tamagami. Photo by Masaya Yoshimura.

‘Birdhouse’ is a pop-up department store featuring a range of products including art, craft, fashion, potted plants and garden planning ideas to enhance the home and workplace. Japanese architect Takato Tamagami created an intricate store interior of differently coloured paneling that looks as if it’s been inserted into the concrete shell. The paneling has been installed at a sloping angle and features various practical cut-outs that bring in daylight or create separate little store sections and counters.

MISS’OPO GUEST HOUSE // PORTO, PORTUGAL.

Photo © Shanna Jones Photography for Yatzer.com.

Miss’Opo is a stylish and creatively functional Guest House located in a historic area in the city of Porto, with two three-room studio flats and four two-room studio flats, with a café/ bar and a shop/ newsagent.

‘ROOMS THAT FOLLOW THE LANDSCAPE’ BY ON DESIGN PARTNERS // KARUIZAWA, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of ON Design Partners.

‘Rooms that follow the landscape’ is a weekend house with a series of room strung in an arc across a small hillside in Japan. Studio ON Design Partners angled each room 15 degrees from the next to create a plan that follows the path of the sun. As the rooms rotate, they also rise and fall with the natural grade of the site.

THE WIKIHOUSE / OPENDESK EXHIBIT AT THE DESIGN MUSEUM // LONDON, ENGLAND.

Image courtesy of OpenDesk.

Opendesk were featured as part of The Future is Here exhibition in 2013 at the Design Museum in London. Each product exhibited has been made by a different fabricator from around the world, from unique locally sourced materials, using the downloaded files available on opendesk.

‘HOUSE N’ BY SOU FUJIMOTO // OITA, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Sou Fujimoto Architects. Photo by Iwan Baan.

Located in Oita, Japan, House N was constructed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, where rectangular windows puncture three layers of walls and ceilings. A bedroom and tatami room are encased behind the second layer, where all window openings are infilled with glass. The innermost layer closes in around the centre of the house, wrapping around a living and dining room.

PARIS LOFT APARTMENT BY GRÉGOIRE DE LAFFOREST // PARIS, FRANCE.

Image courtesy of Grégoire De Lafforest.

French interior architect Grégoire De Lafforest is the man to blame for this beautiful Paris loft. What I really love about this home are the countless elements of surprise and a one-off aesthetic that is so unique to this loft. From the glass house that accommodates the kitchen, the pine tree in the living room, sublime colour palette, and a collection of finishes and furniture that effortlessly mixes the high with the low.

Previous Post // Paris Loft Apartment on Rue Voltaire by Gregoire De Kafforest.

‘FOLM ARTS’ BY TSUBASA IWAHASHI ARCHITECTS // OSAKA, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Tsubasa Iwahashi Architects. Photo © Yoshiro Masuda.

A house-shaped shop window frames the interior of this renovated beauty salon in Osaka Prefecture by Japanese office Tsubasa Iwahashi Architects. A chunky timber frame surrounds the house-shaped glazing, creating the only interruption to an otherwise monolithic facade.

ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETATION CENTRE BY ANA LAURA VASCONCELOS // SANTA CRUZ DAS FLORES, PORTUGAL.

Image courtesy of Ana Laura Vasconcelos. Photo © Fernando Guerra & Sergio Guerra from FG + SG.

This project aims to restore a building classified as historical heritage. Built underground and surrounded by a thick natural stone wall, Ana Laura Vasconcelos converted the tanks into exhibition rooms, keeping their original concrete structure, and expanded the intervention area by digging the surrounding soil, creating a spacious place in which light timber volumes can be seen floating, clearly differentiating the new constructions from the old.

SHONEN JUNK STORE BY STUDIO #201 // TOKYO, JAPAN.

Image courtesy of Studio #201. Photo by Kenta Hasegawa (OFP).

The interior of this underground vintage clothing store had to fulfill both the requests to ‘sell goods to various genres and generations’ and also the necessity of ‘attracting customers’ to this underground facility store.  Studio #201 aimed to increase the independence of each zone by closing the plywood booths with a triangular roof  and by changing the interior finish of each booth while adjusting the distance of the spaces between them.

OCCIDENS MUSEUM AT PAMPLONA CATHEDRAL BY VAILLO AND IRIGARAY // NAVARRA, SPAIN.

Image courtesy of Vaillo + Irigaray. Photo by Ruben Perez Bescos.

Vaillo + Irigaray Architects recently completed the Occidens Museum at the Pamplona Cathedral complex in Spain. The project enhances the relationship between content-continent, between architecture and art works by devising different atmospheres appropriate to each time and each space. It also has a giant pink house inside it, ok?