On the Corner House by Eastern Design Office

Anna Nakamura and Taiyo Jinno of Kyoto-based architecture firm Eastern Design Office have created another sharp structure with the On the Corner house. It’s a seven-unit rental apartment complex located in an mixed use residential/industrial area of Youkaichi, Japan. The lot, which is severely triangular, remained empty for some time, as the shape made it undesirable to builders and the city did not want to allocate funds to make it a green space. Looks like it was worth the wait.

The building is concrete, glass, and stone. Yes, the overall structure is triangular, but look — the façade is comprised of square components. The architects conceived the structure as a surreal “present” or “toy box,” and also liken it to “a fictional tip of a boat [that looks] as if it were escaping from town.” On a more practical note, each unit is made up of a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Photos by Koichi Torimura.