What a beautifully done ru-vid.comUgkxYGamVaHfdHiPlAQaLa7zkwR02OKpGYDU ! The instructions and the photographs are brilliant. It is thorough and genuinely informative. Ryan got another winner! No one does it better!
The ones I remember (Love and Love 2) are perfect pied à terre houses and in fact, 21st century versions of the century-old shacks I would love as a pied à terre. But 3.30 x 10 is not the piece of land I would want to retire on.
I love particular parts of this design - the custom niche for the front door handle, the skylights and the curved stairs with the single tree as you ascend the stairs. Other parts of this design I find challenging - the tightly narrow kitchen, the use of a camp bed for sleeping and the lack of fixed lighting in some rooms.
how did they go around the building codes (no railings, minimum width of corridors, bathroom doors and multiple other violations) for new construction like this?
It has no generosity, very closed in. To be fair that's Japanese homes, but the double hight external courtyard comprises the other parts of the design.
@@karimartin9441 The building code says: "A stairway as referred to in Section 2.27, to the extent that one side of a step surface is more than 1 m higher than a connecting floor, the connecting ground or the connecting water, has a non-movable partition on that side."
Going down the stairs at this home is probably what it feels like to go down the nine circles of hell. It’s probably very interesting but I don’t want to stay there.
I think this house is neat in concept, but all of the spaces are small and claustrophobic. I would 100% not be able to comfortably move throughout this space. I think you can keep that indoor outdoor feel, while utilizing the full footprint of the lot. It would make a lot more sense to have a courtyard in the front, and then enter the house through a nice downstairs living space, with an interior spiral staircase to the upstairs.
I agree with other comments about the small size and awkward layout. It appears that there’s a child’s bedroom. As a grandmother, that immediately raises safety concerns. No bannister on the stairs, nothing to prevent falling off the outside space, in particular.
As a person who has a lot of gadgets, and understands that everything has a lifespan, I do wonder what happens if that dishwasher stops working for any reason... I mean, if an engineer gets called out and sees that cramped space I'm pretty sure they will turn on their heels or put their price up.
I remember seeing this house years ago. Interesting seeing it again. It still scares me. I'm a klutz. Id Probably slip on the stairs because it's raining I'd somehow trip opening the sliding door and fly over the the edge. I'd also miss a comfy chair to sink into
@@jimnelson9775 Seriously? The stairs are the least of my problems. It's just a single floor up and the stairs are the opposite of steep. What I would want is windows.
I love Never Too Small and can appreciate the designs even if I don't find them particularly functional. This one, however, does not feel in line with other homes featured. This does not feel intentional, but more like trying to dress up and justify a non functioning space.
@@Dessert_x_Tat I think it’s a nice feature. It just doesn’t fit my concept of garden or being closer to nature I mean, I don’t live in Japan neither did I grow up in a big city, so the ideas might naturally differ. But there’s nothing wrong with being open about it
So many mentions of "living in nature" when there's literally just one small tree next to the stairs, surrounded by cold white concrete everywhere else. Perhaps this is a very minimalistic take on the concept of embracing nature in one's life, as the lone tree stands out next to all the whiteness, but in my eyes, the cold feeling of white spaces is a bit overwhelming. I guess it's just not for me, but an interesting concept nonetheless.
There are these tiny houses that are avant-garde (for lack of a better word), usually Japanese, that I appreciate because they really push if not rocket past the boundaries of architecture and design. It's necessary to shake us out of our complacency. But just like haute couture fashion, I can appreciate it but I would not wear it (even if I had the figure for it). I can steal some ideas or modify some things to use, but personally I don't find this house homey enough for me to live in full time.
With the religious references, the tight spaces and the lack of light and decoration other than the tree, it reminded me more to a monastic cell than a house close to nature. Of course, if the owners are happy with it, then I guess it's perfect :D
The house is very idiosyncratic to the owners, with many lost opportunities for hidden storage and designing brighter, open & flexible living spaces. But the Owners love it and that's what counts.
I am watching this channel for around two years now but very seldom there is a house which lacks of natural light and free spaces like this. It feels clostrophobic and I would refuse to work in this kitchen where you barely can move
Tbh it’s quite weird that if this house is built from scratch, there are so many doors that cannot fully open. The one that hits the toilet bowl and the one that hits the tree trunk. It can be easily resolved by changing the type of door used. I do not understand the reason to sink the kitchen and not putting any window in the kitchen as well. To me its just a safety hazard. And if I were to design the space, given the width of the land being so small, I would probably turn the staircase 90 degrees and put it all the way at the back to give as much space as possible when I first come in. But I do appreciate the bath tub, it looks really minimalist.
with a house design like this everything goes well until it doesn't. Can you imagine replacing the dishwasher for a new one, hard time to find one that fits, hard time for installation and removing the old one...same thing for other utilities in the house. Definitely functionality =0
One of the most original projects I have seen ! I would never have imagined, in such a small space, such architecture. It fits well with a minimalist, simple and practical approach. This house reminds me of a place where we would like to be to find ourselves, far from the tumult of the world, peaceful, with simple and unlimited shapes to maintain an effect of grandeur and also leave room for the mind to think, as the abstract knows how to do...
i remember seeing this a few years ago. even though it's creative and has some fun and quirky things, and i love the nature element, it looks uncomfortable to live in. a narrow house doesn't have to feel narrow and disconnected, this one does. also, no handrails make it unsafe.
I'm truly surprised to see so many comments saying this is an amazing house. I can't really see any clever design qualities to it, it looks dangerous and uncomfortable. Where do they sleep? The camp bed setup is a single bed and doesn't seem to have enough space for two adults to sleep on the floor next to it. Most doors and windows don't open fully, even the bath window can't open fully without hitting the tree. It would be interesting to have heard the architect talk about the technical/architectural aspects of the outside space during winter - if rain pours, which systems are in place for water drainage? Having to switch floors walking outside in the cold/rain? The living room inside/outside space without at least a rail is just crazy dangerous to me. Why aren't there any lights installed? To save on bills? Is it an eco choice? Also looks like a nightmare to clean, especially that toilet! It would've been great to at least learn about the reasoning behind some of the baffling decisions made on this design... Couldn't be me spending money to build something like this from the ground up, but it's fascinating to see so many people enjoying it.
Considering the fact that they built this from the ground up, I found it strange that some design elements feel... lacking. For example, the sliding door at the top slides into a pocket in the wall, but it could have been a 3-part sliding door (instead of 2-part) that would fully slide into the pocket. Another thing is the lack of a window in the kitchen - there is a blank wall that would fit a window, giving another view into the garden and provide an additional source of light and ventilation.
@@littleme5378 I don't know about Japan, but U.S. building code requires a light switch inside each doorway (candle? wtf?) and guard rails on the precipice of doom
I love this architect's thought process. It's not copy and paste-able, as it could be improved upon. Thought his basic concepts are just plain beautiful.
While I like the concept of including the outside, I don't think this design is very liveable. The kitchen is poky and difficult. There's close to a half metre of space lost with the thick wall, which I would definitely remove. I would probably have a smaller, functional kitchen that took up about half the space, in favour of more living area up there. The down stairs area also seems unnecessarily divided. I'd turn the WC and laundry into a single room for the bathroom, and open up the bottom of the stairwell so it expands the room. You could put custom build open shelving for clothes storage.
I mean, apart from the staircase and entrance that look stunning, the rest feels a bit out of place. Materials and furniture don't match, some places are hard to get into and make it not really accessible for everyone. Aesthetically pleasing sure but not very functional.
I view this as a fascinating insight into a completely different lifestyle from my scruffy, spacious Western lifestyle. Love seeing so many different places.
This is such a sweet reminder of the pleasantries of living simply with only what you need and both houses seem testament to their humble owners. Love both houses.
I am on my way to bed and was looking forward to comfortable soothing viewing as I find many of these videos to be instead I am pissed off. I know that we all have different tastes, but this man is a WHOLE ARCHITECT and THIS is what he built!! Yoooo! make it make sense.
I love the custom made bathroom and the sense of taking a bath outside thanks to the tarrace door that one can open. Sadly that is probably the only space in this house that has such a big access to natural light.
Except that the bath would take a lot of water to fill and be incredibly uncomfortable. Given that the owners admit they rarely use it (very unusual for Japanese people who usually bathe every evening) I suspect they hate it too.
I like this house as a place to visit, maybe to read, meditate, or get some quiet time. I think that is how they are using it. Practically, it wouldn't work for me to live there. It reminds me of a treehouse or clubhouse. Personally, I would feel claustrophobic because there are not enough windows and there is no view. It is entirely closed off from the world, except for a single tree. I do love the curved staircase.
I saw this featured on Kirsten Dirken's channel years ago when the two were living in this house. So pleasing to see it featured on this channel too. I love the image of staircase and the tree when you open the front door. Very zen.
At 4:41 they say it's not their main house. The problem is that this channel usually features full time dwellings and the people who watch this come to expect this, which is a shame, because I've never paused a NTS video so many times before. Really mindbending.
I think he said they don't live there anymore (ie they used to though), since they moved to LOVE2HOUSE more permanently. Hence swapping the washing machine for a fridge.
Such a beautiful flow outside and upstairs offset by less usable spaces downstairs. I'm bothered by the lack of storage meaning this could never be a primary residence and they admit the fridge in the kitchen isn't sufficient by replacing the washer/dryer downstairs with a regular fridge. Rather than that horrible door that won't fully open onto the toilet, they could have used a barn door that slides across the washer/dryer space, and since they have pocket doors upstairs it would be consistent with the style. It's like they had an amazing plan, started with the entrance/stairs/upstairs and then said "good enough" and stopped.
Aren't they scared of falling with no kind of barrier on the living room? Personally I'd end up either severely injured or insane because of how confined this apartment is.
My gosh, when he opened up the glass doors on the upper floor I suddenly developed a fear of heights. Just imagined so many ways one could easily just fall off. There's no real window and the high walls really block off the natural light, plus a lot of rooms don't have electric lights so it feels darker and yeah, claustrophobic. Since his concept was to feel like you are living outside, it does not feel like being outside at all. Really big difference from his LOVE2 House, which has glass windows from end to end that allows passerbys to see right into the home.
Peculiar but unequaled design! The Japanese design of squeeze space is exceptional and deserves a distinctive analysis of how their creative mind derived from.
The house is so unconventional but welcoming at the same time. Wonder what it feels like to live in a house that’s one of a kind. Thank you team for bringing out the best. NeverTooSmall is the best RU-vid channel I’ve ever subscribed to. Your videos are so inspiring.
First of all dangerous, especially for the child that lives there, Second claustrophobic, doors dont open entirely, every room is narrow and uncomfortable, doesnt give room to breathe. Third uncomfortable, nowhere to sit and relax, except on the floor. Fourth the only decoration are black electrical cables hanging down across walls, most unseemly. A disaster, horrible, boring, and dangerous. Please note I have not even mentioned that it is another white nothing. Not one painting on the wall. No indication as to who lives there.
I am completely surpise on how we can use the minimun on space on each path, also the way on how the strange shapes and cruves are approach on this project, it shows me that it is possible to do acrhitecture without the common geometric shapes that we currently watch on our surroundings.
I very much appreciate being able to watch this. It is not very comfortable, but I liked some ideas and I loved to watch something so precious to its creator. I would be glad to watch more works like these, creative and loved and special and artistic.
Honestly, while I am not a designer, this house seems hard to live in for one person, let alone two. I get that 38sqft is tiny, but the way its designed doesn't utilize space well IMO. There are too many walls, making spaces like the kitchen feel extremely cramped, and the stairway area seems like a lot of wasted sq ft. It feels more like an art exhibit--because it is very aesthetic--than a place where people live.
I like this house! I think it's really beautiful and cool and I bet it would feel peaceful to live there! I like that it is super minimal. There is only space for two but I've heard that Japanese people don't like to have company in their homes so this makes sense for them. I guess that's why they call it love house, it's only for the two of them. I see a lot of people in the comments think this is terrible and other people like it and the architect loves it and that's what makes the world go round, everybody has different feelings and opinion
Mr. Hosaka and I have similar tastes. I love how his broad strokes between light and shadow and his blending of interior and exterior create a lovely space to live and love in. Thank you for your inspiration, Mr. Hosaka. (We also have collections of vinyl records and enjoy music. I would love to hear how the spaces and music interact with each other. The interior and exterior spaces must sound beautiful. An aficionado, truly. Thank you.)
I love this channel and I find working with small spaces challenging and intriguing but most of the projects that it showcases are my personal idea of a dystopian future where everything is white and dull. I can't help but wonder where the colors are and why we are afraid of them, cause it's honestly what it seems.
Many of the homes featured are located in very densely populated cities, the color choice is probably a reaction to the visual chaos of a metropolis; plus, white and neutrals are often suggested to open up small spaces. But to your point, there are homes with triple the square footage of this home have a similar color palette. Maybe the question isn’t about why small homes lack color, rather why the minimalist color aesthetic and the aversion of color is currently so prevalent.
Even tho the plot of land they had to build on is truly very small, there are so many things they could have done to maximise on the space and give their home character. Instead they decided to build essentially a white hallway with doors that open with a few millimeters clearance.
nice this little apartment is really beautiful and the white color helps a lot also. But I live in Tokyo and I think that the first space, the living with the table, it will be soooo cold in winter (it’s down to zero or under zero sometimes)… and the camping bed is a kind of sad thing to me… with a place cozy like this I would love a sleep splace where to snuggle! But probably is a house used more when commute.
Maybe the doors could all be sliding doors. I do love the clean house but door touching the toliet is a no. The top cabinet above the bathtub makes it smaller. They could’ve opt for a full 2nd level above the staircase to get more storage space. But overall if they love it, I guess it’s fine.
I needed to watch this a couple of times to appreciate the sculptural and architectural elements. I’m curious to know how the couple uses their time here? It’s hard for me to see a space as a home without any elements of comfort. Can one relax on a bare concrete surface? However, as a creative office space or art studio, it could be fantastic.
I love the aesthetics. Now I am not always aware of my surroundings, this house would be the death of me. I would fall down the dining room window, shower, or bedroom window. A drop of the stairs and round area. For the bed, goodness, spartan! The kitchen is indeed for small people, my kids wouldn't fit with their 6'6 wingspan of arms and legs. But the aesthetics, oy.
