A Japanese Design Firm Just Created a Transparent House — And It’s Already Going Out of Style
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| If you’ve ever had the thought “I like these windows, but I wish they were even MORE transparent to everyone outside,” Japanese design firm Suppose Design Office has you covered — well, the opposite of “covered,” actually.
At the end of 2013, the firm had created an amazing three-story residential building made of translucent walls, which allow every room to be flooded with sunlight but which still give the residents inside a fair amount of privacy through a blurry, translucent coating. But by 2014, Suppose Design Office stepped up its game and created a house “that would bring residents as close to nature as possible.” The new design, called the “Hiroshima Hut,” is made entirely with transparent acrylic exterior walls and see-through partitions inside the house. There’s a small amount of privacy in the house, one media outlet explains, through the use of partially-submerged rooms that have been “cleverly sunken,” as well as a bathroom and storage spaces that are located completely below ground-level. But privacy isn’t supposed to be a concern for residents of the Hiroshima Hut, and the house wasn’t created with the intention of turning residents into a display for other people to watch. According to the home’s main architect, the Hut was designed with the intention of creating an unencumbered connection between the residents and the surrounding wildlife. A slight overhang “creates a shelter of sorts for attracting animals to the home,” and the house has been strategically placed in a “rural” area to limit human intruders. The Hiroshima Hut is certainly stunning in terms of interior and exterior design, and perhaps the Japanese firm was slightly inspired by recent interior design trends that stressed minimalist themes — with “naked windows” sitting at the top of the trends list in recent years. However, a minimalist home with uncovered windows tend to make people feel slightly uncomfortable, which is why CBS Moneywatch said that naked windows are one of the top 10 home design trends to ditch in 2015. In fact, the majority of the industrial-style trends are starting to wane in popularity; everything from chrome-covered kitchens to mirrored bedroom furniture is being replaced with warm metallics and wooden furnishings. And for anyone who still wants to connect with nature in their non-transparent home, perhaps just opening a window occasionally will do the trick. |
