Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jan 11, 2026

A Modern Brutalist House In Japan With Exquisite Details

A Modern Brutalist House In Japan With Exquisite Details

Modern brutalist house with courtyards, ranch-style interior, open plan lounge & dining room combo, glass wall kitchen, and atmospheric lighting inspiration.

A modern brutalist exterior blankly encases this exquisitely detailed Japanese home, expertly designed by Apollo Architects & Associates. The 410 square metre property is located in a quiet suburban neighbourhood in the densely populated Kanto region. The homeowners acquired this tiered and irregularly shaped lot with meaningful family time in mind.

The owners wished to incorporate courtyards as a part of their home life together, and so the design began to take shape within the challenging topography. The distinctive outdoor environment expands the living space in complete privacy. The home interior carries a contemporary ranch-style aesthetic which fashions a comfortable lounge and dining room combo, and a closed, glass wall kitchen.



Two colossal, concrete volumes make up the brutalist house exterior. Atmospheric lighting glows along the edge of a wide driveway, mysteriously guiding the way toward the parking garage and entrance.



The driveway leads into a covered four car parking garage, situated underneath the main mass of the board-formed concrete house. With the property elevated from the road, the main living space is accessed via an elevator or stairs from the secure parking area.



Inside the concrete living room, wood panelling warms up the coffered-ceiling, adding a contemporary ranch-style aesthetic to the space.



Leather bolster cushions take the brown accent onto a modern L-shaped sectional sofa design.



A small sitting area is situated separately from the main lounge, and a formal dining room is arranged in the back of the open plan.



A small courtyard sits between the lounge and dining room combo and the separate kitchen, creating blissful connection with the outdoors.



A large garden terrace is attached to the lounge on the south side.



The unique chess set between the designer lounge chairs is the



The centrally situated courtyard brings a flood of sunlight into the rear of the large room, and gives the dining area a beautiful, green, natural view.



The rectangle dining table reflects the influx of natural sunlight, maximising its effect.



Modern cabinets run the full length of the room, starting as a media cabinet in the lounge area and ending as a buffet in the dining zone.



Elegant candlesticks and a modern fruit bowl make a chic dining table centrepiece.



After dark, the interior comes alive under a warm and atmospheric lighting scheme.



LED ribbons are set around the perimeter of the room, causing a glow at floor level that continues out into the walled garden in one seamless sweep.



Another strip of LEDs marks the top of the bespoke cabinets that connect the two living spaces.



The glow creates the cosiness of a fireplace without the flame.



Modern artwork and the impressive coffered ceiling are dramatically highlighted by the mood lighting arrangement.



Glass double doors connect the closed-off kitchen to the lounge and dining room combo. A second set of glass doors lead into a hallway.



The small courtyard affords the kitchen an outdoor view.



Inside the kitchen, a well-proportioned island includes a dining bar as an alternative to the more formal dining room.



Golden kitchen lighting continues the atmospheric vibes from the dining room and lounge space.



Grey gloss cabinets contrast darkly with clean white countertops.



A glass modern fruit bowl presents an opportunity to add a pop of colour into the monochrome kitchen decor scheme.



A glass table lamp complements the chic glass bowl and leaves the courtyard window unobstructed.



Out in the large, south-facing garden, high walls allow the residents to enjoy their distinctive outdoor environment in complete privacy from the neighbours.



The board-formed concrete walls create a textural consistency around each of the outdoor spaces, which is picked up gently in the ambient light.



Uplighters make outdoor plants into stunning focal points across the tiled terrace.



A modern metal staircase design climbs from the parking garage to the living space beneath a long skylight. Access to the elevator is located just beyond the treads.



The large garden terrace connects the living room with the master bedroom and bathroom.



A home workspace is built-in at the end of a long run of built-in units. Their glossy black finish mirrors the lighting, the furniture and the art.



A second home workspace features a bespoke L-shaped desk built into small quarters. An Eames bird oversees productivity from the window.



The bathroom is a luxurious space, with an edge-to-edge view of the very private terrace garden on the south side. Black gloss cabinets build a storage packed vanity area.



A waterproof TV provides entertainment whilst relaxing in the bathtub.



A sun-dappled hallway runs off the living room. Sunshine through the skylight creates dynamic shadows and radiance across a wall of glossy closet doors and interior doors that lead to the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room.



Stylish outdoor lounge chairs couple up on the terrace outside of the master bedroom, whilst a cheerful sky blue outdoor sofa and chair colour the terrace directly off the living room. An outdoor coffee table rounds out the comfortable arrangement.



A concrete overhang prevents direct sunlight from hitting the interior spaces, keeping the home more comfortably cool.



A pergola overlay creates light play across the small courtyard between the living room and kitchen.



Small trees bed into the roof terrace. Uplights highlight their fine branches in the dusk.



The seemingly impenetrable concrete exterior masks the exquisite detail that awaits inside.



Check out the home tour video:


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
×