Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka
Slideshow: a sizeable hole in the roof of this gabled house in Oita, Japan, allows residents to climb outside and survey their surroundings.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-1a.jpg)
Recently completed by architect Takao Shiotsuka, the two-storey Cloudy House has a tunnel through its centre that splits the ground floor into two disjointed halves, each with their own entrance.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-24.jpg)
Staircases on both sides connect each half to a first floor that spans across.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-19.jpg)
Sheets of corrugated metal clad the entire exterior, interrupted on the steeply sloping roof by a handful of extruded windows and the small terrace.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-21.jpg)
Other houses we've featured recently from Japan include one with a squared spiral staircase at its centre - see them all here.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-20.jpg)
Photography is by Toshiyuki Yano.
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The following information is from Takao Shiotsuka:
Cloudy house
House as opened state
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-8.jpg)
This house is located in suburbs of Oita-city.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-2.jpg)
The place is a small-scale residential quarter developed about 30 years ago.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-5.jpg)
The housing lot exists together to the farmland, and atmosphere there calm compared with the city part.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-16.jpg)
There is no special, wonderful view.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-12.jpg)
However, the flow of light and the wind is correct and solid.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-11.jpg)
We thought about a suitable house for this environment.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-6.jpg)
About what should be of the house with opened condition, such as farmlands and fields there before.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-10.jpg)
The state physically opened by these is produced: drive-through in site, windblown terrace that penetrates through center of building, site boundary without wall, etc.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-13.jpg)
Roof of iconic gable, Burrow terrace in roof, Windowless appearance, Exterior covered with flat feeling of quality, these characterize this building.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-15.jpg)
Moreover, a sense of existence as the material object in the building is made to come to the surface.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-18.jpg)
We tried to produce the opened state by suppressing a private element as the house on the design.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-29.jpg)
The room is contrasted with the externals, and light is filled with each room.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-28.jpg)
Each room is a composition combined with the complexity by the courtyard of the weather-beaten and the shape of cross section of the gable type.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-17.jpg)
This indoor variety also produces the state that opens in the meaning with abundant choices of the experience.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-1.jpg)
When, by a hue and feel of a material of the appearance, a building almost vanishes for cloudy sky, a characteristic as "open state" appears most.
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-22.jpg)
Title of project: Cloudy house
Architect: Takao Shiotsuka
Location: Oita-city, Oita, Japan
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-32.gif)
Date of completion: December, 2011
![Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka Cloudy House by Takao Shiotsuka](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2012/02/dezeen_Cloudy-House-by-Takao-Shiotsuka-30.gif)
Use: House
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Structure: wooden
Floor: 2 stories