Introducing House in Oami, a custom-built home example by Yu Architectural Design Studio, a Architect / Design office in 159-20 Tsuboi-cho, Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture

The client's main requests were twofold: to showcase their elegant, stylish furniture, and to ensure their cat could live comfortably. Within a limited budget, and in order to complement the refined furniture, we deliberately minimized the use of new synthetic building materials and off‑the‑shelf products—such as PVC tiles—and instead used materials that typically serve as substrates, like lauan plywood and flexible board, as finish materials so that the surfaces acquire character over time and the space feels rich and textured.

To make the home comfortable for the cat, we provided a designated scratching area and a location for the cat litter, and we organized catwalks and narrow, secluded spaces where the cat can retreat and feel settled. The terrace is enclosed by a tall plank fence to prevent the cat from getting out.

For the exterior, as with the interior, we employed materials that change with age—using yakisugi (charred cedar) among others—to achieve a unified appearance. Site: Oamishirasato City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Use: Single-family detached dwelling
Structure: Timber-framed, two-story building
Total floor area: 89 m²
Building footprint: 58 m²