Tato Architects works from offices in the city of Kobe on projects throughout Japan. Its focus of interest lies in the research process behind each project, and in designing spaces that undergo renewal with the passage of time and the people that occupy them.

The floor plan and the volume of the house come from a simple straight grid and its diagonals, giving rise to the different spaces. But the idea of the project does not come from the grid. The region has a cool and wet climate, so terraces are commonly closed up, enabling residents to dry laundry or store things there. Drawing inspiration from these spaces which are inside or out, depending on the time of year, the architects designed the house’s characteristic feature: the large slidable hanging door that makes the sun room either part of the garden or part of the interior, giving the house a continuously changing facade. Similar areas of smaller dimensions were added in other areas of the house, all to serve as interfaces between indoors and out.