Tokyo's impermanent skinny house made to age well with owners

Inheritance taxes on land in Japan means plots often get smaller as they are passed on. This “divide and sell” phenomenon in Tokyo translates into some very tiny home sites. When architects Masahiro and Mao Harada were tasked with creating a home on a lot only 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide at its narrowest point, they chose to interpret small as “near” and use the small scale to their advantage.

Read more ›

Login to rate this video.

You can place this video on your website by inserting the (X)HTML code below:

Options:
pixels
pixels
Embed code:
<iframe src="https://www.snotr.com/embed/18752" width="400" height="330" frameborder="0"></iframe>

You can email this video to your friends by entering their addresses below:

Your information:
Recipients:

add Add another recipient

Human verification:

People who liked this video also liked

AtmosFear freefall tower at Liseberg Gothenburg in Sweden
I Can't Taste Anything
1087 Days in Just 15 Minutes - Growing Plant Time Lapse COMPILATION
Colored balls elevator. Particle fluid. Music. Molecular Script. Video 4K
2019 Tasmanian Tiger Photo
Budgie Balancing Trick

Comments

6 comments posted so far. Login to add a comment.

Expand all comments

Picture of Judge-Jake53 achievements

+2 2. Judge-Jake commented 7 years ago

It's small but it grows on you. :)
Picture of cameramaster55 achievements

+2 3. cameramaster commented 7 years ago

I'd like a building to be in scale ( with me ) as well....one teeny weeny likkle problem....I'm 6 foot 2 1/2 inches tall....and everything is built for the average (that means vertically challenged ) person. The last time I managed to stretch out full length in a bath was back in 1974 :-( That place would kill me!
Picture of thundersnow58 achievements

+1 4. thundersnow commented 7 years ago

#3 Cameramaster, you are very tall! :)
Picture of MindTrick43 achievements

0 5. MindTrick commented 7 years ago

#3 damn bro, do you even reach down to the ground from up there? :D But i have to agree, if you're of those proportions, you'd need bigger space than someone who is 5'5" . Personally, i would get a bit of claus from the slim/tall style. I'd rather have it flatter, but wider. We have a lot to learn from their mentality tho, the western world tends to build houses that are spacious and roomy.
Picture of ComentAtor48 achievements

+2 6. ComentAtor commented 7 years ago

i am always fascinated with how different their architecture is from rest of the worlds (the whole culture actually)
http://gizmodo.com/10-japanese-kyosho-jutaku-micro-homes-that-redefine-l-504374362
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/07/25/10-amazing-tiny-houses-in-japan-a-photo-tour/

before any reading there is a must see bbc's japanorama documentary to try and get close to understanding them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUtNEyLaIZY&list=PL4881936EA4FA9CFA
P.S. is there anybody from japan here?