House in Nakagyo is a minimal home located in Kyoto, Japan, designed by koyori. The house is a 40-year-old multi-family residential constructed with reinforced concrete built on a 90 m2 site in the heart of Kyoto. The hope was to be able to spend time at home comfortably—with growing children. The center of the house is the island kitchen, which takes up most of the room space. This is where all of the residents spend time between coming back home and going to bed, doing homework in the dining room, playing right next to it.

The architect gave the house an arrangement, size and flow that allowed us to cook and clean with peace of mind while keeping eyes on the children. The window uses a frost glass to adequately separate the private area from the outside public while letting enough light into the house. The house uses materials that could age and change over time in accordance with the growth of the children, traditional construction methods and natural materials, Japanese paper with a touch of handiwork and plaster finish. This design allows the residents to live in the house as if they are wrapped around by them.

Photography by Junichi Usui