Moriyama House’s Timeless Purity

17.07.2018

Photo courtesy of Office of Ryue Nishizawa

Like it or not, Moriyama House is a cult building. Featured in many specialist publications, this experimental house created by Ryue Nishizawa (one half of the architecture firm SANAA) is the only one of its kind. And why? Because it consists of ten white blocks which make up the different components of a home. There are trees and passages between each room; it’s a bit like wandering through a maze. The building is totally exploded into its constituent elements.

Photographer Edmund Sumner wanted to capture it in its natural state. “I was surprised to see how gritty Moriyama House was. It was far from glamorous, with the reality of tenants living in such small spaces”, he recalls. These photos were taken in 2005, just after the house was completed. 

Photo courtesy of Office of Ryue Nishizawa

Photo courtesy of Office of Ryue Nishizawa

Photo courtesy of Office of Ryue Nishizawa