House Like a Museum by Edward Suzuki is a Stunning Green Oasis Flooded With Natural Light

This stunning single-family home in Japan designed by <a href="http://www.edward.net/">Edward Suzuki Associates</a> uses natural elements to seemlessly merge the outside with the inside. Dubbed "House Like a Museum," the residence features a central courtyard that functions as a green oasis in a noisy commercial and residential area of Kamakura City and floods the home with natural light.

The two-story, modernist home is located about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The architects designed the rooms to face and have a view into the courtyard implementing their vision of 'going in to go out'.

The house is flooded with natural light reducing the need for artifical lighting.

Traditional <a href="http://inhabitat.com/a1s-tea-house-in-the-garden-is-a-natural-sanctuary-in-prague/">Japanese architecture</a> has served as inspiration with its peripheral corridors fusing or separating the inside and outside ('Engawa'), tiny patios ('Tsuboniwa'), cross ventilation ('Tsuufuu'), the use of green plants, and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-garden-school-is-a-new-green-roofed-learning-facility-for-china/">roof gardens</a> for geothermal insulation.

Diatomite, an eco-friendly <a href="http://inhabitat.com/silvervillan-is-a-low-impact-low-energy-home-in-sweden/">insulation</a>, together with <a href="http://inhabitat.com/from-yuhang-unveils-bamboo-paper-gu-chair-at-milan-design-week/">bamboo</a> laminates in flooring and interiors adds to the eco-friendliness of this 776 square meter property.

At the center of the home is a circular patio that is 15 meters in diameter.

Rooms on the second floor open out on the circular balcony, which looks down on the landscaped courtyard.

A tree grows through the center of the courtyard.

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Inside, on the ground floor, the large courtyard floods the home with natural light.

The bedrooms feature built-in bamboo furniture.

Because neighboring buildings and houses are so close to the lot line, architect Edward Suzuki chose to have the home look inward instead of outward.

The entire home is planned around the central garden, giving every room a view of the courtyard.