Eco Real Estate of the Week: Greenhouse House, Japan

June 15, 2012 in Green Business, Green Business News, Green Living, Living Green, Green News, World, Green Stories with 4 Comments

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The Greenhouse House by Hiroshi Iguchi. Image from FifthWorld-inc.com

It looks like nothing more than a greenhouse. If you passed it in the forest, you’d probably walk on by without giving it another look. Eco real estate designer Hiroshi Iguchi strikes again! This creation is literally a Greenhouse House, full of living space.

The trees stand tall through open glass panels, and from a distance it looks like they’ve actually busted through the glass of an old, abandoned structure. But inside, the house is full of warm open spaces, minimalist design, and traditionally lightweight Japanese construction materials. Sliding panels separate the interior rooms, and panels of canvas drape across the “ceilings” to block the brunt of the sun’s heat and lend privacy. While the main structural frame is metal, the home’s look is softened by natural woods and flowing canvases.

The main living space is downstairs, with a smaller upstairs area that has a great view of the forest in every direction–and even of the kitchen below (there’s a clear glass panel running the length of the floor). The eco real estate respects the property and wildlife around it, and is built with materials like sustainably sourced hardwood floors.

Iguchi has created eco real estate structures with glass panel walls in the past, such as at his “Japanese Commune,” which is a communal living space. Based in Tokyo, he founded the Fifth World architecture firm to focus on sustainable, eco real estate and spread awareness of environmentally sound building practices and materials.

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About Leslie Hedrick: Leslie Hedrick has been a freelance writer and journalist since 2009. Her work, centering around green technology and sustainable living, has been published across the internet and in magazines throughout North America. She studied writing at Columbia College Chicago, and currently resides in northern Kentucky. Connect with Leslie on Leslie Hedrick

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