Roof House, Wall-less House, and Sky House are some names of projects designed by the young Japanese architecture studio Tezuka Architects in Tokyo. However, their big public buildings also reveal the extent to which the architect couple Takaharu and Yui Tezuka—who are enjoying increasing international acclaim—see architecture as an elementary discipline of defining and removing boundaries. Their designs are the epitome of simplicity: intense dialogues with clients and users help the studio to develop solutions that appear refreshingly unconventional, but remain firmly anchored in everyday life. Often equipped with wide, sliding-door fronts and verandas, these buildings relate to the location and climate in a sensitive way, recalling a centuries-old Japanese architectural tradition. Together with present-day innovative design and construction technologies, they generate architecture that is both unpretentious and timeless.
