Five cement-clad boxes illuminated from above are hidden within this almost windowless house in Japan's Hyogo prefecture, designed by FujiwaraMuro Architects.
House with a Light Void is located on a site surrounded by residential streets on three sides and a lack of captivating views.
House with a Light Void's residential location led the architects to design the exterior with very few windows
To appease privacy-conscious clients, Japanese architecture firm FujiwaraMuro Architects chose to draw daylight into the 85-square-metre building primarily via a series of skylights.
These are positioned over vertical volumes at the home's centre and four corners, all finished in cement plaster on the interior.
Light is drawn into the building via skylights positioned above cement-clad volumes Privacy concerns are common among homeowners in Japan's densely populated cities and suburbs, and an absence of street-facing windows is not unheard of in new buildings ? 10 examples are collected here.
The entrance to the house is through a wooden door recessed into the north facade of the white-clad volume, into a circulation space that rings the central volume.
The cement boxes house private rooms while living spaces are slotted in between
To one side is the main living area and to the other a small kitchen. The dining room is tucked at the back beside a wooden staircase.

The cement-plaster volumes themselves contain three bedrooms and a closet on the ground floor, while the tower in the mid...