An anonymous white box faces the street, clearly an unusual and candid welcome for eventual guests; but also a very austere take on privacy, as there are no windows to the outside. The Okinawa-based project has one of the most straightforward names as Minimalist House the architects from Shinichi Ogawa & Associates played all the cards openly. A true love letter to minimalism in all senses right from the entrance.

Three partitions makes up the whole premise, two identical 18x3m strips and one slightly leaner. With that recipe the house takes shape—starting with a beautiful courtyard doing its part to set the tone with a very simple green garden offering some height and water. In addition, of course, the much important light source to the main area, a possible Tadao Ando influence.

The middle section holds no walls nor any kind of evident division, as each room is purely defined by its furniture holding their ground. The lack of evident separation forces its residents to a very simple lifestyle, with very few elements on display in the bedroom, dining area and living room (with a clear love for music). On the other hand, such arrangement is the gift of extreme flexibility. As the building does not limit nor dictate what should be done.

A white functional wall separates the only explicitly private area for the powder room, study and the kitchen. The long corridor sports a beautiful and subtle lighting project. The project can only achieve what it sets to do with flawless interior design alongside, that’s the double edge sword of the open plan, it flirts with danger but the payoff is enormous.

Wearing their minimalist hearts on their sleeves the architects succeeded in creating a contemporary archetype for Japanese architecture.