Project Size: 1,350 square feet

Site Size: 7,673 square feet

Program: A family sought a light-filled residence on a sloped site in southern Japan with a design incorporating the lush greenery below.

Solution: The t-shaped house consists of two perpendicular rectilinear steel-frame volumes clad in cedar. The upper level terminates on the south in a dramatic cantilever that hovers more than 30 feet above the ground and is pierced at the end to allow a tree to grow up through the structure. The lower level is half-submerged in the embankment below.

Residents enter the house via a diagonal path into the upper level containing the kitchen, dining, and living areas to the south and a small study to the north. The master suite and child's bedroom are on the lower level. A terrace on the roof of the master suite can be entered from the main level. Raw plywood walls and pale cherry floors unify the spare interior, while skylights and large glazed expanses frame views of the surrounding forest.