Cascading down a hillside in an olive grove in Sonoma, California, this 850 sq.ft. home is a study of volumes and the materials that form them. It was designed by Cooper Joseph Studio to be constructed and to reside in partnership with nature and the scientist owners’ agricultural projects which include olives and olive oil and bee keeping. Continue reading →

In Osaka, Japan, this family home for a couple and their two children rises to meet the lack of privacy and day light. The double height volume of the ground floor offers a typical arrangement of a shared kitchenette, dining, and enclosed storage. Though you may miss those when you enter the glass front door and are face to face with an igloo like structure! Or is it an olive green tent? Continue reading →

In any situation it is best to go with the flow or bend like a willow and not break like an oak. The design of this home bends and flows with its challenging sloping site. In fact it uses the site to create a dynamic modern house whose light filled spaces contradict its small size of 124 sq.m. Continue reading →

I’m a big fan of living lightly on our stunning planet and love my modern comforts as well. In Light House, by Camera Buildings, your home can be comfy in its tiny foot print. At an overall size of under 100 sq.ft., this small home is 8’-4” x 12’-0”. It’s built for you in a factory in British Columbia so on-site building headaches do not exist, except for the foundation that you’ll need. Continue reading →

The addition and transformation of this house in a dense neighborhood in Japan is genius! Architects Mizuki Imamura and Isao Shinohara created a bright spacious home through masterful manipulation of light and volume. Their 72 sq. m. home is closely surrounded by other houses and the lot on the back side will soon be occupied with a new building. Space and light are at a premium here. Continue reading →

House of Shimamoto by Container Design makes the most of a tiny site in Osaka, Japan. We’re talking about a two-story building with a compact space of only 86sqm that puts to the test the real meaning of ‘Small is Beautiful’. An L-shaped plan organizes the program in a sequential spatial order: the front door is placed away from the street while the facade has almost no windows – both emphasizing a clear sign of privacy. Continue reading →

Keperra House testifies the magical sense of space inside a small building in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. This brilliant house was conceived by Australian studio A-CH serving a single dweller at the end of a garden of an existing property. A monolithic concrete volume is partially covered by a shinning metallic skin that provides a glowing aura to the house. Although small in scale, there’s a bunch of little surprises waiting to be discovered inside this tiny home of 45sqm! Continue reading →

On the slopes of Mount wellington, Tasmania one can find a small two-story building with a profound sensible approach to its natural surrounding context. Untreated timber cladding creates a chameleon-like effect to this compact house, which enhances even more the relation with nature through the use of reflective mirrored glazing. How can two constructive elements produce such integrity and respect towards Mother Nature? Little Big House is the answer to this question. Continue reading →

This guest house is a perfect study in pure geometry and natural simplicity. The architect owner and his wife situated the small home between the forest and a rushing stream to immerse them in nature through the senses of sight and sound. The rectangular 950 sq.ft. home has super insulated walls that are sheathed in cedar shingles with square galvanized steel sheets meeting the shed roof above. Continue reading →

Sometimes even the smallest of buildings can shelter an infinite sense of space: House in Ishikiri in Osaka, Japan reveals the secret behind such a wonderful experience. A small three-story house of 99sqm was designed by Tato Architects and is located on the hillside of Mount Ikoma. At first sight, one can be deceived by the composition of three separate volumes that transform this house into something poetic and unexpected… Continue reading →