It’s refreshing to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Whether it’s simply packing away your winter coats or chucking entire bags of old shoes out, spring is a reminder that keeping a clutter-free life is essential.
Now, let me impart some time-honoured art school knowledge with you. The Japanese have an aesthetic and lifestyle concept called “Ma”. Western minimalism is constricted to physical space and form, whereas Ma is all-encompassing: it views emptiness as full of possibilities. And while the minds at Kubota Archtitect Atelier may not have directly correlated their crisp-looking YA House to Ma, one can’t deny the inspiration behind it.
This abstract home is formed by six giant slices of concrete, creating an infinite perspective.
One side of the concrete it painted in a blinding white and the other side is left bare, for reasons the architects cryptically describe as “materiality and massiveness is lost and only the meaning as surface remains.”
Located in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, three of the four floors in-between the two vertical slabs of concrete cut into the mountainside, though the top level is exposed, allowing for an expansive and wondrous scenery.
A modernized tatami room (a space which demands certain etiquette) solidifies the presence of MA in this design — serenity through structure and simplicity is something we ought to begin adopting here in the West.
