Abax Architects

Homes with Gardens｜Custom-built homes by architecture firms9Picks｜A Home That Grows with Greenery

Author: Qurasuki Editorial Department

The garden should be regarded not as the "outside" of the home but as an integral part of the living space, continuous with everyday life. For those who garden regularly, detailed planning that directly affects usability is essential—sun exposure for planting areas, the location of outdoor water outlets, efficient circulation for gardening tasks, and the siting of a garden shed for tool storage are all critical. Equally indispensable to a rich garden experience are considerations of how the garden is viewed from the interior: the height and dimensions of openings and the quality of sightlines. The architectural practice designs building and landscape holistically to realize homes with gardens where the changing seasons can be felt from indoors. See these examples of living in harmony with plants.

Homes with Gardens

te to te — House in Ryugasaki

e do design architects

A residence for a family of three located in a quiet residential neighborhood in Ryugasaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture. The design is characterized by a composition that combines three distinct volumes—the entrance volume, the private-room volume, and the living-dining-kitchen (LDK) volume—while embracing the rich surrounding environment. The spatial relationship to the exterior is carefully calibrated to protect privacy while nurturing connections with nature and family. Through a double-height stairwell, the individual spaces are gently linked. True to its name, “te to te (手と手),” it is a warm vessel for living that weaves bonds between the family and its surroundings.

A House with a Lush Green Atelier

Archiplace

This is a residence with an attached atelier for a designer couple, built on a site in a Tokyo residential neighborhood that, despite its urban location, opens onto abundant greenery to the south. On the first floor are arranged a refined pottery studio reminiscent of ceramicist Lucie Rie’s atelier and a garden for enjoying gardening. The second floor serves as the living area centered on the living–dining–kitchen (LDK), and a looped circulation route mediated by a double‑height void deepens the connection with the atelier. A deck terrace opening onto the greenery and a spiral staircase gently link interior and exterior, creating a home where creative work and daily life naturally intersect.

Matsuyama–Edamatsu House

Masahiko Sawamura Architect and Associates

A generous resort house that takes advantage of the site's changes in elevation.

House on a Sloping Street

Tenkosha First-Class Architects Office

This is a new residence planned in a quiet residential neighborhood of Shiroyama, Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Although the site is approximately 93 tsubo in area, road access is narrow and on a steep incline, so work began with widening the entrance. To ensure safety against the cliff on the west side, a high foundation and a setback were provided, and the building was located at the center of the site. Existing trees were thinned while retaining a persimmon tree as a symbol of the garden and daily life. Apitong timber was used for the exterior cladding and deck to harmonize with the surrounding trees. A double‑height void and large openings gently connect interior and exterior, creating a soft residence enveloped by the tactile quality of wood.

Multiple Living Spaces That Evoke a Sense of Family

Mitsuhiro Kojima Architects

This is a residence that values each person's place while the family shares time together. The everyday is treated as a landscape through light, sightlines, and the textures of materials, and the interior is made continuous with semi-outdoor and outdoor spaces centered on an enclosed lawned garden. Children study at the dining table and can move to the adjacent open study with bookshelves, the hobby space above the living room, or private rooms. A double-sided glazed wood-burning stove serves as the focal point, and, depending on the season, the garden louvers can be opened to use the space integrally with the forecourt in front of the garage.

House in Akenocho, Takatsuki

Abax Architects

This residence, designed for a young family with small children, has a total floor area of approximately 31 tsubo. A simple floor plan and a clear, straightforward design create a comfortable environment that accompanies daily life. The terrace adjacent to the living room is enclosed with aluminum expanded-metal mesh, forming a semi-outdoor space where children can play safely. Over time the planting will cover the metal, allowing residents to enjoy the evolving scene of the house and greenery growing together as one.

A Home Living with Plants

Tatsumi Negishi Architectural Studio

This is a residence for which we assisted beginning with the site selection. The client had long working hours and wanted a timeless space for relaxing with plants in their leisure time. Making use of the site’s characteristics, the living room, a deck for enjoying wine and outdoor meals, and a garden of flowers and greenery were arranged as a continuous spatial sequence, blurring the boundaries. Interior and exterior are unified, creating a home in which plants are an integral part of daily life.

The Sunken Retreat

Far East Design Lab.

Located in a quiet residential neighborhood in the city center, this house occupies a sloping site with an elevation change of approximately 5 m. Under the constrained conditions of being enclosed by adjacent buildings, the design secures residential floor area through a three-level configuration that includes a basement. A sequence of split-level living spaces and a stair atrium approximately 10 m in height are provided so that daylight from a skylight reaches down to the basement. The top floor is conceived as an open space connected to a garden and roof terrace; the contrast with the calm atmosphere of the basement creates a three-dimensional residence evoking a natural ravine.

Satoyama House

Yosuke Tomiya Architectural Design Co., Ltd.

A residence on a hillside in the suburbs of Sapporo planned from the land-search stage to allow city workers to live with Hokkaido's nature nearby. The building is placed on the north side of the site to secure a garden to the south. Large openings connect the interior and garden; the living room overlooks ski slopes, and a wood-burning stove with snowy scenery colors everyday life. The house features an open LDK with a double-height void, a spacious doma, and an efficient household workflow, and with high thermal insulation and airtightness plus a hybrid heat source, it enables comfortable year-round living close to the seasons.