The OH House has been designed by Japanese architectural firm Atelier Tekuto (Yasuhiro Yamashita), built on an irregularly shaped lot that is 1.5 meters lower than the road. The residence takes its name from the family who will live in it, accommodating a total of 6 people, three of Mr. Oh’s immediate family, his parents and sister. The main priority regarding the house’s design was accommodating a parking space for a car. Atelier Tekuto created one with a web-like steel material, where light can filter from the web onto the underground level. Looking up from this area, the car appears almost as if it is floating.

Because having a parking space within the limited lot was a priority, Atelier Tekuto positioned the house’s entrance on the underground level, beside the stairs leading up from where the car is housed. Upon entering the house, there is a flight of stairs to the family area with two bedrooms and a bathroom at the far side. Another part of the design was to make sure action within the house was unseen from the exterior.

“Even though we answered the client’s request to avoid being seen from the outside, we still made the windows as big as possible. How to place windows is very important for a building,” says Yamashita. The space incorporates suspended furniture within an open concept design which maximizes the usage of the limited space. The ground floor has a wide space in which the family’s dining table hangs from the ceiling. “Upon entering a space, human eyes unconsciously measure distance from perpendicular lines,” says Yamashita. “Thus the OH residence has multi-sided ceilings. This multi-sided interior volume surprises people by feeling bigger inside than the outside.” Via

Visit the website of Atelier Tekuto here.

Photos: Toshihiro Sobajima