Metal skin wraps the exterior of Niigata residence by Takeru Shoji Architects
Stripy metal panels wrap the exterior of this Japanese house apart from a section at the front, creating a visual effect that prompted architect Takeru Shoji to name the building after a cardigan (+ slideshow).
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_11.jpg)
Home to a family of four in Niigata, the house is called Cardigan Cardigan!!
The name derives from the main design concept, which is for a house with its body protected around the back and sides, but revealed to the road in front – similar to wearing a cardigan rather than a jumper.
"We thought it literally looks like the house is wearing a cardigan," said the studio.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_4.jpg)
To achieve this, Takeru Shoji Architects gave the two-storey building an L-shaped plan that frames a secluded terrace. The metal-clad wall appears to encase this outdoor area as much as it does the interior, and the roof stretches out to meet it.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_10.jpg)
"For the children playing on the road, the large roof becomes an arbor for taking shelter from passing rain or harsh sunlight," said the studio in a project statement.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_1.jpg)
"On the other hand, for the residents feeling comfortable at home, it becomes an umbrella mediating between their life and environmental difficulties: intense sunlight from the west in summer, freezing wind from the north-west in winter and the privacy from the neighbours," said the team.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_2.jpg)
The studio chose steel sheets coated in an aluminium-zinc alloy to clad the outer wall. The building's timber framework is visible underneath, while other sections of the facade are coated in a pale render.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_8.jpg)
A wooden fence separates the front terrace from a driveway, which is also partly sheltered beneath the overhang of the roof.
Inside, the entrance hall leads through to an open-plan living and dining space that takes up the majority of the ground floor. Floor-to-ceiling glazing links it to the terrace in front, allowing residents to dine outside in warm weather.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_6.jpg)
The kitchen is located at the back, on a lower level than the rest of the living space. This allows the residents to sit down on the floor and eat at the counter.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_5.jpg)
There are three bedrooms upstairs: a master suite for the clients and two smaller rooms for their two children.
Wooden flooring runs through the building, including a see-through corridor on the upper level.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_7.jpg)
"We designed the room to allow moderate distance among the family – which is often uniformly fixed – by creating a variety of places to attract people," said the team.
"[There is] extreme thinness and closeness between the ground floor and the first floor, a long corridor leading to the space under the large roof and a corner or a step everywhere," they added.
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_936_3.jpg)
Cardigan Cardigan!! isn't Takeru Shoji's first building that references clothing. Last year he completed a house that he describes as having a big hat.
Photography is by Isamu Murai.
Project credits:
Architecture: Takeru Shoji Architects
Structural design: Tetsuya Tanaka Structural Engineers
![Cardigan Cardigan by Takeru Shoji Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/12/Cardigan-Cardigan_Takeru-Shoji-Architects_Japanese-house_dezeen_01.gif)
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