Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65654 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-01
• Released on: 2005-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

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.
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Review
"A must for anyone wanting to understand how to do more with less when it comes to home design." -- Sarah Susanka, AIA architect and author of THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE series and HOME BY DESIGN

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

Review
Four people living in less than 1,000 square feet may sound cruel and unusual by North American standards, but these ultramodern Japanese homes are a testament to using every inch of space to the fullest. Each design makes the featured home feel much larger than it actually is thanks to open-concept layouts, neutral materials, and clever storage ideas like removable kitchen floor panels that hide infrequently used storage. Other clever solutions for living well in limited space include a series of skylights that allow light into a windowless bedroom, and garage door-style retractable windows that open up three storeys to visually expand what might otherwise be a dark, claustrophobic live/work environment. (Style at Home)