The Architectural Review’s House of the Year has just been announced. The Cosmic House in Osaka, Japan, is an ‘exceptional example of moving the boundaries in an individual residential project,’ according to the judges.

UID Architects is responsible for this series of white ‘frames’. Seen from above, it can even be described as a ‘village under several roofs for one family’. However, it is far more of a unit than a group of elements randomly put together. According to the AR the ‘frames’ should rather be seen as a means to interpret a very large house. Two families – three generations – live here, in two houses, each with a separate kitchen and bathroom and it can function separately or together. It also provides privacy and an openness towards the outside, each in turn. Alison Brooks, chairperson of the judging panel, said the porch, as architectural element, has been scaled and assembled in various different ways in Cosmic House.

Other finalists were A House for Essex by FAT and Grayson Perry, which got a special commendation. One of the judges is of the opinion that this house will still be talked about two hundred years from now. On the Water by Nikken Sekkei in Osaka, Japan and Casa Caldera in Arizona, USA by DUST Architects were also nominated.

Read more about Cosmic House here.