House of Laminated Layers by Architect Hiroaki Ohtani is made up of pre-cast concrete strips, stacked unevenly to allow stairs, furniture and floors to be inserted in the gaps.
It’s tight, claustrophobic, yet entirely open. There are no internal doors, apart from the sliding doors to the toilet.
Passing the tree in the courtyard, that brings irregular form to this oterwise linear exterior, you enter on a landing, where you can either traverse to the bedroom, or head downstairs to the basement where a formal dining room and bathroom are housed. The front of the house is a larged glass panel to let more light into the house and the rear wall has smaller window striped by the precast concrete.
Although flawed in size and solar capabilities, both in terms of heating the house and getting light in, it still seems warm with the living room and its pot bellied fire.
