If we are to continue to wish for the wish that is (or was) Heliopoli, we might do well to continue to see (or wish to see) its design elements outside of it, and one would be hard-pressed not to see the wish of Heliopoli in every inch of the Minimalist House.

This house in Japan, designed by Shinichi Ogawa & Associates, is laid out in three strips. The building is 18 meters wide and each section is 3 meters deep. It is essentially three rooms that are 18 by 3 meters each. The first section is a courtyard, open to the sky. The next serves as a bedroom, living room and workspace, separated from the courtyard by a glass wall. The third is the kitchen, bathroom and utility spaces.

The chief archivist is speechless: the open space, the white walls, the recessed lighting, the stark utility, the uncompromising peacefulness, the … well, minimalism. The sheer bliss.

As a bonus, the architects note that the exterior is coated in photocatalyst paint (whatever that might be), which evokes an impression that light makes the house come alive; or that the walls absorb images from their surroundings, releasing them at night; or that the house looks different in every photograph of it, an Impressionist’s dream.

The chief archivist would move in in a Heliopoli minute.

(Seen on Dezeen)