Distance of Fog House by Studio Green Blue, Tokyo, Japan

At first sight, it is not overtly apparent why the Distance of Fog House is so called. In fact, the house presents a rather flat, austere, unfoggy frontage. Set slightly back from the street, it is encased in greyish-white metal cladding with only a long window allowing for any visual connection to its surrounding

However, when you step inside, an entirely different environment unfolds. Divided over two floors, the house is separated by a series of bespoke perforated metal screens. Together, the overlapping of the screens creates a type of moiré pattern, which constantly shifts and shimmers as you walk through the internal space. Here, the formal concept of fog, of delicate visual blurring and layering, is lyrically expressed and celebrated.

Like fog, the perforated metal screens achieve a slow dissolution of solid elements. On the one hand, the screens imbue individual rooms with an aura of privacy. On the other, they connect each space to the house as a whole, with silhouettes glimpsed through the overall interior. The result is a delicate layering of space in which each room teeters somewhere between private and public, never fully confined to either condition.

The jury enjoyed the surprising choreography of space, seen as the Distance of Fog House shifts from the strong boundary of its street frontage to the seamless and delicate sequence of its interior.

Have your say

You must sign in to make a comment.