6 Space Saving Solutions from Japan

Architects constantly refer to Japanese design when crafting small spaces; Dwell goes straight to the source for inspiration on how to make the most out of every square foot. Slideshow

This flower shop, art gallery, and home for two looks like the simplest of cubes, but configuring a home and business into 1,115 square feet took finesse. The concept is what architect Makoto Tanijiri called “a new kind of normal”: a structure that appeared ordinary on first glance but that would reveal its uniqueness the more time one spent in it. Tanijiri didn’t want to design something strange for the sake of strangeness. Instead, much like Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa, the design duo behind the renowned Super Normal exhibition, he was trying to find the core of good design within a ubiquitous form. Photo by Takashi Homma