Introducing Naturally Finished Built-In Garage House, a custom-built home example by H₂O Design Office, a Architect / Design office in 939-73 Higashi-Arai, Minuma-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture

This residence, designed for a couple with diverse hobbies, is a thoroughly natural-finish house constructed using exposed cedar structural members, solid cedar plank flooring, and interior walls lined with structural plywood for exterior insulation. Wood-based materials are employed extensively throughout the interior, with the vast majority of surfaces left untreated to preserve their natural texture. Moreover, the design allows for flexible adaptation to as-yet-undetermined future uses.

The garage is positioned directly opposite the entrance hall, serving as a social hub where friends and colleagues who share an interest in automobiles can gather and converse. Adjacent to the garage, a work counter, a built-in hobby space table, and display shelves for plastic models have been incorporated to enhance this communal area.

At the rear of the garage on the first floor, the wife’s confectionery workshop is situated, from which the garage and its vehicles remain visible, blending hobby and daily life seamlessly. The second-floor LDK (living, dining, kitchen) space features a double-height ceiling, expansive openings, and a large central skylight traversing the roof, which together distribute natural light evenly across the wood-finished surfaces. This spatial arrangement maintains appropriate separation from highly private zones such as bedrooms, washrooms, and bathrooms, while facilitating an open, continuous flow with minimal partitions.

A slender steel spiral staircase located on the southeast side anticipates the planned future addition of a loft floor. It creates a cohesive spatial relationship between the upper and lower double-height volumes while preserving potential and flexibility for the home's evolving functions and aspirations.