Realm of Blank Space

This is a home designed for a couple. As you enter the front door, there is a kitchen with a ceramic tiled floor, which leads to a living room. A built-in storage system separates the bedroom, and the core of the house, surrounded by storage, contains the bathroom. The storage system is the key to the design. A space in which things are stored has no attributes of its own, but rather, things and the absence of things define the space. To create a state of emptiness, the wall storage has become a wall surface. The division of the storage and the way the recessed handles are inserted ensures functionality, but by removing them from their “logical” positions and replacing them with invisible division lines, the storage became an abstract wall surface. The width of the handles was reduced from the usual 20 mm to 12 mm. Other design elements like the baseboard and trim were also set to 12 mm, and gaps between drawer fronts were reduced to 3 mm to create clean, minimal lines and reduce visible joints or divisions. We wanted to explore the concept of a “realm of blank space.” A blank space is an undefined, intermediate area that does not belong to any specific function or attribute—it exists between elements, creating spatial ambiguity and diversity. This approach reflects the traditional Japanese concept of a third space, where boundaries are blurred to encourage flexibility and potential. Rather than making a limited space into a limited realm, changing the attributes and making each area ambiguous creates spatial diversity. At home, we wanted a space that has no defined attributes, and is “empty” on a daily basis. Like a blank slate, it feels like this is the origin of “something” being born from “nothing.”