Shell Residence by Kotaro Ide

I absolutely fell in love with this house by Kotaro Ide of ARTechnic. Situated in the woods outside Nagano, Japan, this organic design beautifully blends into its environment. The concrete shell flows around the trees and the wooden terraces complete the whole thing by bringing nature inside. Stunning!

As you can see this house looks beautiful in every season of the year. And not only does it look beautiful in all seasons, it can handle the extreme climate in this part of Japan as well. Extreme colds and a high level of humidity are bad conditions for most structures. But the shell shape makes this house almost float above the ground resulting in a minimum contact with the ground it's been built on.

photos (c) Nacasa & Partners Inc.

images courtesy of Kotaro Ide/ARTechnic Japan