An Osaka family home built around a sports hall

This is a private house in Osaka, but it is an interesting one to read for the way family life has been organised around movement rather than rooms with fixed jobs. Designed by SHIOYA DESIGN for two generations, the wood-framed home centres on a large "free space" that began as a judo practice area and grew into something closer to a small indoor sports hall. Instead of being locked to one use, it is meant to shift with the family over time.

That central room has been fitted for basketball, golf, bouldering and judo, with different ceiling heights tuned to different activities. There is a retractable golf net, a basketball hoop, court markings and a climbing wall, while loose tatami mats can be moved around in about 15 minutes to change the setup. Around it, the house stays visually connected: a shared kitchen and dining area brings the household together, a second-floor living room looks down into the space, and a rooftop terrace opens the house to the sky.

Gardens and outdoor areas extend the plan further, with planting around the edge giving privacy without completely cutting the house off from its surroundings. Completed in 2025 and measuring about 183 square metres, it is less a house with a home gym than a home shaped by play, practice and change. Worth a look if you like domestic architecture that starts with how people actually want to live.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 1 October 2026. Read the original

Photos: designboom · See all 8