Having made a name for itself in Europe for its boundary-pushing designs in the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, and beyond, Dutch firm MVRDV has turned to Asia for perhaps its most unusual project yet: the Y-house. Situated some 40 minutes outside of Tainan, Taiwan’s oldest city, the house gets its name from its distinct shape, a towering block letter Y.
The approximately 3,500-square-foot villa is designed to anchor a new housing development in the region for city dwellers to escape the hustle and bustle of nearby Tainan. Dotted with asymmetrical circular windows (think Swiss cheese), the concrete structure rises four stories high and boasts a rooftop swimming pool and observation deck. The interiors are neatly stacked within the Y-shape, anchored at the building’s base by a tearoom meant for entertaining guests. Bedrooms are stacked from there, and finally, spaces for communal living and dining fill the top of the letter. The interiors are carefully designed to echo the space, with furnishings that are fully integrated into the home’s architecture.
According to the architects, the house’s uncommon shape accomplishes two distinct goals: first, maximizing garden space on a relatively small plot, and second, maximizing views of the nearby sea under the constraint of relatively tall surrounding buildings. A completion date has not yet been announced.
