Japanese Takaya House Features a Natural Floor Made From Tamped Earth

This quirky house in <a title="Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://inhabitat.com/curvaceous-light-stage-house-in-hiroshima-made-the-most-of-an-awkward-lot/" target="_blank">Hiroshima</a>, Japan, features a polished modern exterior - but walk inside and you'll find a traditional tamped earth floor! Designed by up and coming Japanese architect Makoto Tanijiri from <a title="Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://www.suppose.jp/" target="_blank">Suppose Office</a>, Takaya House is made from natural local materials found in the area. Read on for a closer look at this clever eco-friendly home's charming earthen interior!

<a title="Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://www.suppose.jp/" target="_blank">Suppose Office</a> designed this Japanese family home with big sliding walls and windows, simple materials and a traditional <a title="Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://jinriki.blogspot.com.ar/2009/08/how-to-make-doma-or-tamped-earth-floor.html" target="_blank">“douma”</a>, or earthen floor.

Its exterior is clad with grey wooden boards and its interiors are filled with rustic materials, sparse furniture and open spaces.

Its <a title="Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://inhabitat.com/1920s-rietveld-schroder-house-in-utrecht-is-a-simple-elegant-and-completely-transformable-home/" target="_blank">sliding doors</a> and floor-to-ceiling windows allow the family to adapt the space to their changing needs.

Lots of wood, white surfaces and multiple levels provide the house with a flexible atmosphere that makes life flow easily.

The traditional earthen floor has plenty of advantages: it is affordable, made of local materials, cool in the summer, warm in the winter and it is so easy to install that can be done with the help of <a title="Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://inhabitat.com/muzoo-toy-set-lets-kids-create-cute-biodegradable-animals-from-clumps-of-earth/" target="_blank">kids</a>.

The Takaya House is yet another example of how Japanese architecture brings <a title=" Takaya House in Japan Boasts A Traditional Earthen Floor Bringing The Outside In!" href="http://inhabitat.com/takeshi-hosakas-inside-out-house-has-trees-growing-inside/" target="_blank">the outside in</a>, and it's a beautiful example of how we can live well, and closer to nature.