This house in Tokyo brings the street inside—literally

Here’s a new one: This modern home blurs the lines between indoors and outdoors so much that we’re still not entirely sure where the private ends and the public begins.

Located in Tokyo, the House in Ouji takes advantage of the city’s maze of dead-end streets to create a living space that blends seamlessly with the road on which it sits. From some angles it almost seems like an optical illusion, and that’s on purpose—the couple for whom the home was built intended to diminish the boundaries between their private and public lives and open up their home to the community.

The front of the home built by Pluszero sits on one of these cul-de-sacs, which already acted as a close-knit community space, and the sidewalk leads right through the front door. This creates a multifaceted space that is able to act as a home as well as create room for community events and workshops.

The residence comprises two long, parallel volumes, with one housing the basic amenities for living and the other acting as a more fluid space that opens up to the street.

This public-facing space is adorned with large windows at both ends to further bring a sort of continuity with the public space around it, in addition to brightening up the home itself. Meanwhile, the more private volume is clad primarily in wood, which adds a modern and brooding intimacy to contrast with the more public component.

It’s a creative idea to foster community-building—as long as a tourist doesn’t take a wrong turn and end up in your living room.

Via: New Atlas