Hat House Features a Playful Interior Composed of Oddly-Shaped Rooms

The Japanese firm FUMIASO ARCHITECT & ASSOCIATES took on the design and development of this quirky small home in Kobe, Japan. The house is set in a densely populated residential area and is surrounded by other homes.

Fumiaso were tasked with creating a home that can retreat from the exterior, while in other places, embrace it. The project was completed in 2017 and has been titled “Hat House”.

Hat House covers an area of 871.88-square-feet (81-square-meters). Within that space an interesting juxtaposition between rooms plays out. The rooms generally have an irregular form, with a triangular or parallelogram plan.

The property embrace’s nature and attempted to bring it into the house itself. The ground floor of Hat House gives way to the garden, introducing a small internal alleyway and courtyard. The “alley” and courtyard are used to divide up space on the lower level, separating studios from one another.

The second level of the home contains the more typical living areas. To the left of the staircase, you’ll find a largely open plan living room, dining area and kitchen. On the other side, in the right-hand corner, you’ll find a room that’s most likely reserved for sleeping.

The sleeping space has its own en-suite composed of a washroom and bathroom. A separate toilet can be found at the opposite end of the room. The bottom left corner of the Hat House has been dedicated to the Japanese room, which also has access to a small terrace.

The home’s playful nature is evident from the outset; an open timber structure adorns and supports the roof, poly-carbonate sheeting is used to divide spaces while permitting light to pass through, and openings between rooms feature curved arches and tansu staircases.

For more Japanses houses check out this open plan home with a dining room at its heart by Jun Igarashi. Or, this commercial office conversion into a comfortable family home by Shuhei Goto. See all Japanese homes.

Photos © Shigeo Ogawa