Homes with Atelier Spaces｜Custom-built homes by architecture firms9Picks｜A Residence Where Creative Workspaces Are Integrated into Everyday Life

For those who regard creative practice as an integral part of daily life, having an atelier at home is a decision that fundamentally alters the way they live. The required environment varies with the activity—painting, making, carving, sewing—but certain elements are commonly essential: reliable natural daylight, floor and wall finishes that tolerate dirt and diverse materials, careful provision for ventilation and odor control, and storage solutions for tools and supplies. The design firm conducts interviews to understand the nature and pace of the creative work and its relationship to the residential areas, then designs spaces in which focused production and everyday life can coexist comfortably. Below are examples in which the creative workspace and the home are integrated.

An architect's own residence located at the northern edge of the Nōbi Plain on a site with a pronounced level change where the plain meets upland terrain. The square plan is rotated 45° to reconcile openness and privacy by avoiding direct sightlines from the main road and neighboring houses. The site's elevation difference is used so that primary living spaces are on the second floor. A hybrid concrete-and-wood structure leaves materials exposed to express their natural qualities. The layout centers on the dining area and allows for continuous circulation so that, except for sleeping, daily life takes place on the second floor. Materials such as solid timber, brass, and stone were chosen to develop patina over time and to harmonize with the southern rural landscape.

An atelier designed for a single painter to quietly engage in creative work. It aims to be a space distinct from the comfort of a residence, suffused with a measured tension and stillness. Eschewing excessive theatricality, it provides an environment in which the subtle daily shifts—such as the flow of clouds, the sound of water, the gradations of greenery, and the passage of light—can be perceived. The particular light and presence that fill the place become the source of creation. It is a quiet vessel for engaging with nature and returning to the canvas.

This residence, built in a housing area of Tomio in Nara City where the cohesive streetscape characteristic of a scenic conservation district prevails, incorporates separate ateliers for each of the spouses. Planned as a place to accommodate the family’s daily life, hobbies, and creative activities, the design carefully reflects the occupants’ personalities in the architecture. While emphasizing harmony with the surrounding landscape, it possesses a rich, non-uniform expression and aims to bring color and vitality to the neighborhood through diverse modes of living.

This is an atelier for a nihonga (Japanese-style) painter built on a site of approximately 32 tsubo. Pursuing uniform light that is not affected by season, time of day, or weather, soft natural light is admitted through an inverted-pitch butterfly roof and cross-shaped slits. Plaster-finished curved walls diffuse the light and fill the entire space with an ideal production environment with minimal shadows. A column-free volume of approximately 4.6 m × 9.6 m accommodates the creation of large works and their handling for installation and removal. The design also includes a system to channel rainwater to a water-lily pond and incorporates a Japanese-style room, creating a place where creation and nature quietly resonate. Consideration has been given to both earthquake-resistant and seismic vibration-control performance, allowing the artist to immerse themselves in work with peace of mind.

A building quietly set within the forest, with state-owned woodland extending to the north and views toward the foothills of Mount Asama to the south. The first floor accommodates a confectionery workshop, while the second floor serves as a residence, forming an integrated live-work dwelling. The design fosters an intimate relationship with the abundant natural landscape, where craft production and daily life gently interweave.

A residence for a family of four on a site of just under 30 tsubo. Based on the requests of a husband who enjoys baking and a wife who is highly organized, the design realizes a space that combines simplicity, functionality, and playfulness. The first floor is organized around a café-like doma space and is configured so the family can live on a single level in the future. The second floor, with varied ceiling heights, becomes an expansive LDK connected to a deck terrace. The skip-floor third level includes a study, a children’s room, and a balcony, and the variety of places to inhabit gives the home a rich, expressive character.

This is a private residence with an attached design atelier. Built on a site once familiar as a walking path, and intended to inherit the memory of a beach landscape cloaked in pine woods, its exterior walls are clad in thick timber. The timber is painted white to add softness, giving the house a presence that quietly blends into the surrounding environment. Internally, changes in floor and ceiling levels gently articulate the atelier, individual/private spaces, and shared areas. Lofts, a roof balcony, planted areas, and staircases create multi-layered spatial extensions between interior and exterior.

This is a residence for a family of four planned on a site adjacent to a forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. It also serves as a creative base for the husband, a ceramist, and the wife, an illustrator, and the theme is to incorporate the forest scenery into daily life. The living area is a double-height space that opens widely toward the forest, and a black earthen floor (doma) echoes the exterior scoria, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. The building keeps its height low, sitting quietly as if to nestle against the forest.

This house, situated on a site a short distance from the station, accommodates a gentle coexistence of residence and office. The street-facing first floor is planned as an office, with spaces that extend to the south garden being flexibly used as a studio, exhibition area, and meeting space. Private areas are compactly arranged, while the garden-facing household/utility space is designed as a comfortable place to linger. On the second floor an open-plan living-dining-kitchen (LDK) overlooking the Akashi Strait is provided, creating a composition in which indoor and outdoor living integrate. The home is designed to accept the mild local climate as well as occasional severe wind and rain, enabling residents to enjoy a way of life unique to this site.