Tokyo-based Yuusuke Karasawa has arranged fluropolymer-painted steel plates to form the split-level structural maze that is ‘S-House.’
Located in Omiya in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, the house was designed for a professor who studies the interconnections between humans and nature.
Yuusuke Karasawa expressed the client’s work through the two-storey structure, which he split into a vertical circulation of platforms, connected by a system of scissoring central staircases.
Offset voids in the platforms add more layers to the home, creating a complex spatial relationship between the two bedrooms and baths, living room, dining room, kitchen, and study.
Working with British engineer Alan Burden, Karasawa developed a box beam structural system made from welded, 6 millimetre steel plates that mark each of the building's half-levels on the façade.
A hollow void inside the beams hides electrical and mechanical equipment.
Each floor is clad entirely in large glass panes, with thin steel columns positioned at the corners to deal with the stressors of the earthquake-prone area.
Mirrored polyester privacy curtains appear opaque from the outside but still allow for plenty of natural light to enter the interior and provide clear views out.
The house is capped by two white-ceramic-tiled terraces.
Courtesy Architect Magazine
