Osaka studio Sides Core has created a house in Kobe, conceived as a series of simple wooden containers (+ slideshow).
Sides Core founders Sohei Arao and Sumiko Arao were asked to create House in Mikage for a family with a young child, having designed a beauty salon for the same couple 15 years ago.

The architects wanted the house to act as a series of "containers" that would provide a flexible base for the changing needs of the family over time.
"Simple containers made of quality materials are the easiest to use," said the architects. "You don't grow tired of them, and they bring out the best in whatever is inside."
"We think of living spaces as containers that bring out the best in your family and your life."
The timber-framed house occupies a site in Mikage, a residential area near the coast of Osaka Bay on the outskirts of Kobe.

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Part of the plot is raised two metres above street level to create a parking space in front of the house and provide privacy while also offering the inhabitants views of a forested cliff to the south.

From the front, the building appears as a white cuboid with two large, wood-lined openings.
One of these provides a sheltered balcony on the first floor, where a shared circulation and storage area sits alongside a double and single bedroom and a bathroom.

On the ground floor, the opening partly shelters a large...