This Japanese home designed by architect Suzuko Yamada is connected to its garden through a scaffold of steel pipes and platforms that can be adapted according to the owner's needs.
Set in a residential area of Tokyo, the three-storey house and its gabled roof are entirely clad in sheets of corrugated metal, save only for the side that is facing the front yard.

Here, the design forgoes a solid wall in favour of an assemblage of 34 windows of different sizes and sashes, rendered alternately in wood, steel or aluminium.
All of these can be opened, allowing the inhabitants to step straight out into the garden on the first floor as well as providing access to two steel platforms on the second floor, which are propped up by the scaffolding to form balconies.
A spiral staircase is strategically integrated into the steel pipe system to allow the garden's fruit trees to be pruned and harvested at different heights.
The scaffolding also allows the house to be continually expanded and reconfigured, as additional elements such as bannisters or rails for drying clothes can be added simply by clamping or unclamping different pipes.

"Since the family moved into the house, steel pipes have provided additional structures in the yard to support trees, as well as creating bike racks and awnings," Yamada told Dezeen.
"On the interior, the wooden structure allows them to easily attach and detach elements such as shelves and lighting, even if it's a DIY project."
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