Couple uses ladders to navigate their Tokyo 'Ninja' house

We've seen people swinging on ladders to access tree houses, but it's not every day we see ladders inside homes.

In 2012 a Tokyo couple commissioned Hiroyuka Shinozaki Architects to give their 750 square-foot apartment a contemporary makeover, one that would maximize the interior space used as both a home and a studio. The Japanese architect responded with an unconventional design comprised of a series of floating floors accessed by a network of ladders. But how did it get the nickname 'Ninja'?

In 2013, the couple who commissioned the renovation—Tatsumi Terado and his wife Hanae—talked to CNN about their home. Responding to the absence of interior walls, the gaping floor plates stabilized by a series of three dimensional columns, the couple said they felt like they were getting in better shape because they had to be as nimble as a ninja to access the various floors. A few years down the road, they will probably be black belts!

House T is the name Hiroyuka Shinozaki Architects gave to the project. A regular feature on Inhabitat, the studio notes that hanging lights illuminate all levels of the house, though the absence of walls and the cavernous interior optimize natural lighting and foster natural ventilation. Other functions are built-in to achieve the kind of superior space management the Japanese have mastered. We need more ninja houses in America!