a translucent life inside the House of Tousuienn

Named House of Tousuienn, the three-storey building in Hiroshima was designed by the Japanese architectural Suppose Design Office as the residence of a family of five, who also requested a space for storing and repairing a collection of motorcycles. It capitalizes on a simple principle of utilizing solely translucent polycarbonate walls for the whole house, in order to allow for natural light to flood the interior from all sides.

The long and narrow shape of the site dictated the shape of the house. It is surrounded on three sides by neighbouring buildings, so the architects added translucent cladding to allow light to permeate the interior without comprising residents' privacy. Windows are made from the same material as the walls, so they don't offer any additional light but can be opened to allow residents to let fresh air into the building. At night, lights glowing from within transform the building into a huge lightbox along the streetscape. A steel structure made up of I-beams is on show inside the building and has been painted white. Concrete ceilings are left exposed, while the floors encompass a mixture of concrete and timber. A kitchen, dining room and living room are grouped together on the first floor, with a bathroom positioned behind. On the uppermost floor, an enclosed children's room in the middle of the space creates a barrier between two larger bedrooms on either side. [1]

[1] Ref. http://www.dezeen.com/2013/12/05/translucent-house-with-plastic-walls-in-tousuienn-by-suppose-design-office/