IT IS A GARDEN : Minimalism, Mystery, and Light in Japan’s Forests

#minimalisthome #japanesehouse #architecture
“Light is the permanent host of this house.”

IT IS A GARDEN is a poetic architectural creation by Hiroi Ariyama & Megumi Matsubara of ASSISTANT, nestled deep within the forest of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan.

Designed as both a guest house and a private art gallery, this one-story concrete and black-glass structure invites nature inside through five distinct courtyards. Each courtyard is a sculpted void—open to the sky, composed for light, shadow, and reflection.

The home’s form is simple—flat, square, minimalist—but its experience is immersive and dynamic. As the sun shifts, komorebi (the interplay of sunlight and leaves) dances across the floors, walls, and glass, creating a living garden of shadows.

Features:
• Five internal courtyards, each with unique light orientation
• Reinforced concrete and black glass façade
• Interior designed for the movement of light and reflection
• A home where architecture and nature dissolve into each other

The house doesn’t just sit in the forest—it becomes a part of it. In IT IS A GARDEN, time, light, and space collaborate to create architecture that inspires.

Architects: ASSISTANT - http://www.withassistant.net/
Area: 475 m²
Year: 2016
Photographs: ASSISTANT , Daici Ano - http://www.fwdinc.jp/
Manufacturers: Cosentino, Dinesen, Focus, Poggenpohl, Agape
Structural Engineer　: Konishi Structural Engineers
Construction Company: Niitsu Gumi
Architect In Charge: Hiroi Ariyama, Megumi Matsubara
City: Nagano
Country: Japan

#gardenhouse #homedesign #japanesearchitecture #japan