The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas For Living Well In Limited Space

From Publishers Weekly
"The small abode has become all the rage in Japan," architect Kengo Kuma declares in the foreword to this inspiring book, which should appeal to fans of the small home movement in the U.S. as well. Brown (Small Spaces; The Japanese Dream House) presents 18 residential buildings in his photo-packed volume, all of them built within the past five years. Many of them were designed by leading Japanese architects, such as Tadao Ando and Shigeru Ban. And although their actual floor spaces may be too small for most American readers-they range from 540 sq. ft. to 1,730 sq. ft.-the volume is so full of ingenious ideas that it's a good bet for anyone trying to maximize the space and light of a small residence. Architect Hoichiro Itai's house, for example, manages to squeeze a garden deck, a study, three bedrooms and a sunny communal dining space into 995 sq. ft. Another house makes the most of a small footprint by setting the entryway between two glass-walled garages, so that the entrance resembles an elegant auto showroom. And a third fits a workspace, a bedroom and a bathhouse all in a long, narrow lot that was once a driveway. But the most impressive aspect of all these homes is the bright, airy feeling they manage to convey within in their tiny confines. As Kuma explains, "Focusing on the essentials and a strong sense of poetry ... they are creating, within finite quarters, a refined living space, generating new and important ideas." Brown's excellent textual commentary will help readers bring those important ideas into their own homes. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Time Magazine
"Books like…THE VERY SMALL HOME…explore how small spaces can be put to ingenious uses."

Book Description
Building small can be a sign of higher ambitions, and those who take the time to peruse these pages will undoubtedly grow to appreciate that creating a small home can be an amazingly positive and creative act, one which can enhance life in surprising ways. THE VERY SMALL HOME presents stunning design advances in Japan. Eighteen recent houses, from ultramodern to Japanese rustic, are explored in depth. Particular emphasis is given to what the author call the Big Idea—the overarching concept that does the most to make the house feel more spacious than it actually is. Among the Big Ideas introduced here are ingenious sources of natural light, well-thought-out atriums, snug but functional kitchens, unobtrusive partitions, and free-flowing circulation paths. An introduction by the author puts the house designs in the context of lifestyle trends, and highlights their shared characteristics. For each project, the intentions of the designers and occupants are examined. The result is a very human sensibility that runs through the book. a glimpse of the dreams and aspirations that these unique homes represent and that belies their apparent modesty. The second half of the book is devoted to illustrating the special features in the homes, from clever storage and kitchen designs, to ingenious skylights and nooks. As with his earlier SMALL SPACES, Azby Brown has given home owners, designers, and architects a fascinating new collection of thought-provoking ideas.

About the Author
AZBY BROWN was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied architecture and sculpture at Yale College, graduating in 1980. In 1985, he received a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Education to do research at the Department of Architecture of the University of Tokyo, where he received a master's degree. He is the author of THE GENIUS OF JAPANESE CARPENTRY, SMALL SPACES, and THE JAPANESE DREAM HOUSE. He became an associate professor of architectural design at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology in 1995, where he has also accepted a position in the Department of Media Informatics. In 2003, he opened the Future Design institute in Tokyo, and currently serves as director. Brown lives in Yokohama with his wife and son. KENGO KUMA is an award-winning architect based in Tokyo. He is the recipient of a number of honors, including the top prize in the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) DuPont Benedictus Award for his Water/Glass Villa, a Boston AIA award for Unbuilt Architecture Design, and four grand prizes from competitions in his native Japan. European recognition includes Italian and Finnish awards. His buildings have been documented in several monographs, including KENGO KUMA: SELECTED WORKS.


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KENGO KUMA is an award-winning architect based in Tokyo. He is the recipient of a number of honors, including the top prize in the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) DuPont Benedictus Award for his Water/Glass Villa, a Boston AIA award for Unbuilt Architecture Design, and four grand prizes from competitions in his native Japan. European recognition includes Italian and Finnish awards. His buildings have been documented in several monographs, including Kengo Kuma: Selected Works.


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