Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada has completed a suburban house featuring two rooftop lawns and a cave-like interior.
Titled ‘The Grass Cave House’, the unconventional home stands on a narrow, V-shaped residential plot in the Japanese city, Yokohama.
With limited potential for a yard or garden, Makiko Tsukada decided to create two floating green roofs for the top of the house and garage, providing the owners with an outdoor sanctuary.
One of the green roofs leads off the top-floor living room of the two-storey home and acts as a private terrace and garden.
The second lawn slopes down towards the street, contributing to neighbourhood’s rich green scenery.
The floating roofs also work as air conditioners to absorb solar radiation during summer, and as insulation to maintain the interior thermal environment during winter.
Inside, the urban recluse is clad entirely in dark steel and timber, with natural lighting manipulated to make the space seem more enclosed and private the further into the house you go.
The ground floor utilises the areas with reduced natural lighting to house a bathroom and sleeping area, while upstairs, open-plan spaces are reserved for the kitchen, dining area and living room.
Courtesy Inhabitat
