Tokyo Jewel Box | Tadao Ando & Associates

Behind the slick facade made out of laminated-glass panes lies a courtyard filled with 6,800 platinum-glazed ceramic tiles. They were designed by the danish light artist Olafur Eliasson and represented a problem to Ando, who usually just works with concrete, steel and glass. Attaching them to the concrete wall is no easy task even for the skilful architect but they managed to create a very interesting space that changes its appearance by adjusting the light. The owner Obayashi named the house Yu-un. The two Japanese characters mean to enjoy/ wonder (yu) and to retreat/ hermitage (un) describing what the house contains – a guesthouse for the owner and at the same time a gallery to display his rich collection of contemporary art.

/more after the jump