London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Corrugated Steel Boxes Stack Up to Create a Tiny Home in Tokyo

Corrugated Steel Boxes Stack Up to Create a Tiny Home in Tokyo

Maximizing a 280-square-foot plot, House Tokyo by UNEMORI ARCHITECTS makes clever use of ceiling heights and half levels.

Sandwiched between neighboring houses on a densely populated street, House Tokyo by UNEMORI ARCHITECTS reads as a stack of corrugated steel boxes. With a building area of just 280 square feet to work with, the architects managed to carve out an interior square footage of nearly double that by strategically manipulating the volumes.



UNEMORI ARCHITECTS designed the exterior walls to be partially set back as a way to increase surface area and allow for more light to be ushered inside.

"In Tokyo, tiny plots of land are the standard," says principal architect Hiroyuki Unemori. "Houses in the city have to be compact and cleverly structured. With House Tokyo, we reacted to the challenge by designing the house as stacked, interlinked cubes with a very open floor plan."



In addition to opening House Tokyo up to natural light, the large windows break up the corrugated metal facade.

By setting the upper level further back from the street, the architects were able to create a small outdoor terrace while creating better opportunities for light to sweep inside. Throughout the design, moments like this create what might be called breathing room. For example, "the small gap between the neighboring houses brings a view to the sky, wind circulation, and of course, sunlight," explains Unemori.



From the entrance, a slender metal staircase leads to the upper-level kitchen and dining area.

The outer walls were created from cement and then wrapped in sheets of corrugated steel. Inside, a neutral palette enhances the calming, minimalist aesthetic. Crisp white walls complement exposed portions of the wooden framework, such as the wood-framed windows and ceiling beams.



"As the windows are oriented in different directions, various daylight atmospheres fill the room throughout the day," Unemori explains.

From the entrance, a folded metal staircase leads to the partially sunken bedroom and bathroom, or up to the elevated, open kitchen-and-dining area. Giving the client the option to someday rent out the home, the sleeping area can also be divided into two rooms.

"The client has a very busy, urban lifestyle, so the city is their extended house," says Unemori. "They use House Tokyo for sleeping, working, and living."



Custom cabinetry spans the entire width of the home, providing ample storage.

The ceiling heights range from approximately 22 to 50 feet high, creating discrete moments in a modest amount of space. These staggered ceilings, as well as the many openings and windows, create "a spacious, pleasant living experience-even in such a compact, small house," say the architects.



"The structure of House Tokyo was built with wood, which can still be seen inthe interior design of the residence," notes Unemori. "The open-plan kitchen and dining area were placed on the first floor where the spacious overhead area is dominated by the framework's wooden beams."



A peek at the upper level from the main entrance, showcasing the exposed wooden beams.



"While each floor is assigned a function, the spaces are connected through openfloor plans and offset levels, which enlarge the space and counter the smallness of thehouse," says Unemori.



A washing machine sits nestled under the staircase.



While housed in the semi-basement level, the bedroom is illuminated with ample natural light.



Pocket doors separate the bedroom from the bath, which includes a large glass shower.



House Tokyo cross section

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×