HOUSE IN CHIHARADA BY STUDIO VELOCITY

A circular Japanese home that popped straight from a storybook

Studio Velocity’s House in Chiharada is essentially a playhouse for grown-ups. Shaped like the turret from an imaginary castle, the architects chose a circular shape to preserve privacy and to provide a contrast to the irregular shape of the garden.

The interior space is divided by four rectangular volumes of varying height. Each of the individual boxes contains a staircase that leads to the floor below; three of the staircases lead to bedrooms and one staircase leads to the bathroom.

No connection exists between bedrooms, but each has access to the bathroom and to the exterior.