The house is located on a small lot adjacent to a park in a residential neighborhood in Saitama Prefecture. The building has two windows that extend all the way up the building to open the home to views between the street and park on either side.

Architects Takahashi Maki and Shiokami Daisuke explained to this year’s judges – Riken Yamamoto and Koichi Yasuda – how the side openings (one against the stairway and the other against an atrium) achieve a sense of spaciousness inside the small house. 

Second floor plan courtesy of architect

The judges were convinced that these open spaces help the 2.2 meter-wide (7.2 feet) floors to feel wider than they really are. Mr. Yamamoto suggested that the building could have more interaction with the park, so that the field could be used more actively.