The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas for Living Well in Limited Space

The Very Small Home is an inspiring new book that surveys the creative design innovations of small houses in Japan. Eighteen recently built and unusual houses, from ultramodern to Japanese rustic, are presented in depth. Particular emphasis is given to what the author calls the "big idea" for each house-the thing that does the most to make the home feel more spacious than it actually is. Big ideas include ingenious sources of natural light, well thought-out loft spaces, snug but functional kitchens, unobtrusive partitions, and unobstructed circulation paths.

An introduction puts the houses in the context of lifestyle trends and highlights their shared characteristics. The Houses section details each project the intentions of the designers and occupants are explained. The result is a very human sensibility that runs through the book, a glimpse of the dreams and aspirations that these unique homes represent and that belies their apparent modesty. The second half of the book is devoted to illustrating the special features in the homes, from storage and kitchen designs to revolutionary skylights and partitions.

Building small can be a sign of higher ambitions, and those who read this book will undoubtedly grow to appreciate that building a small home can be an amazingly positive and creative act, one which can enhance one's life in surprising ways. In The Very Small Home, Brown has given home owners, designers, and architects a fascinating new collection of ideas.

"'The small abode has become all the rage in Japan,' architect Kengo Kuma declares in the foreword to this inspiring book, which should appeal to fans of the small home movement in the U.S. as well. Brown (Small Spaces; The Japanese Dream House) presents 18 residential buildings in his photo-packed volume, all of them built within the past five years. Many of them were designed by leading Japanese architects, such as Tadao Ando and Shigeru Ban. And although their actual floor spaces may be too small for most American readers-they range from 540 sq. ft. to 1,730 sq. ft.-the volume is so full of ingenious ideas that it's a good bet for anyone trying to maximize the space and light of a small residence. Architect Hoichiro Itai's house, for example, manages to squeeze a garden deck, a study, three bedrooms and a sunny communal dining space into 995 sq. ft. Another house makes the most of a small footprint by setting the entryway between two glass-walled garages, so that the entrance resembles an elegant auto showroom. And a third fits a workspace, a bedroom and a bathhouse all in a long, narrow lot that was once a driveway. But the most impressive aspect of all these homes is the bright, airy feeling they manage to convey within in their tiny confines. As Kuma explains, 'Focusing on the essentials and a strong sense of poetry ... they are creating, within finite quarters, a refined living space, generating new and important ideas.' Brown's excellent textual commentary will help readers bring those important ideas into their own homes." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The author selected 18 houses from the greater Tokyo metropolitan area that demonstrate creative solutions to extreme space constraints. The houses, most of which are between 850-1200 square feet, are each featured in detailed profiles that include several architect's drawings and groundplans, as well as color photos. The essay for each house describes the design parameters and thinking that led to the finished result. A handy section is included that describes creative details in the houses using nooks, partitions, lighting, and other features. The volume is oversize, at 9.25x12.25".
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Azby Brown (Small Spaces, The Genius of Japanese Carpentry) is an inspiring book that surveys creative architecture and design innovations of small houses in Japan, emphasizing the "big idea" for each one--the thing that does the most to make the home feel more spacious than it actually is.

AZBY BROWN was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied architecture at Yale College. In 1985 he received a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Education to do research at the Architecture Department of the University of Tokyo, where in 1988 he received a master's degree. He is the author of several books, including The Genius of Japanese Carpentry, Small Spaces, and The Japanese Dream House. He became Associate Professor of Architectural Design at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology in 1995, where he has also accepted a position in the Department of Media Informatics. He opened the Future Design Institute in Tokyo where he currently serves as Director. Brown lives in Yokohama with his wife and son.