House In Akitsu By Kazunori Fujimoto Architect & Associates

Two concrete cubes form the body of the building, which stands on a matching concrete platform. Steps are leading up to the building’s raised entrance, while further free-floating steps from the facade of the first block, leading up to a roof terrace. The major challenge of this project was to make the interior comfortable combined with a new openness atmosphere. Inside, the concrete construction is left exposed and polished to reflect daylight that illuminates the living spaces through generous windows. Skipping floors and short stairs connect the split-level spaces, while a tall guardless staircase made from cast concrete twists its way between bedrooms located in the base of the structure and living spaces placed across the upper floor. The thickness of the supporting slab becomes invisible to its outer and inner end, designed to avoid any necessity of a central pillar. Therefore a perfect straight line appears from its central axe.