Slit Architecture

Trust the Japanese to use concrete and natural light for creative purposes.

Isn't this a breath of fresh air from all the McMansions you see today?

This house was designed by Eastern Design Offices from Kyoto Japan. There are no windows, just slits of light. The exterior is composed of glass and concrete.

The forms of light created from the shape and placement of slits gives this house quite a unique character, almost a solemn holiness.
It's hard for me to form analysis on architecture when I haven't actually walked through the building. The experience of physical presence is one that I cannot mimic digitally.

This style of house reminds me of a famous Japanese arhictect, Tadao Ando, and his style of architecture, see below:


The use of light in architecture can be just as important as the physical materials themselves. In Ando's "Church of Light", the negative space created from the void in the concrete becomes the symbol and light of God, literally. Gestalt is used, even in holy places! Hallelujah.

Back to the Slit House. I'm sensing a form of duality happening within the architecture that balances the overall spatial composition created from the light sources and material used. Even the interior design breathes a warm sigh when contrasted with the "cold" concrete and voids of glass.


The visual rhythm created from the light sources, gives the space depth and a fluidity in motion that is visually pleasing as one walks down the long hall.

The overall mood and tone of the home is quite different than typical "western" style architecture. The architecture seems to respect the Japanese culture....even more general...Eastern thinking and philosophy. It employs principles of architectural balance and combines it with the aesthetic minimalism of its culture. Well done.