drawing the line between indoors & outdoors, home & wild

House along the lakeshore with living space that merges interior and exterior conditions,

This intermediate, built-space is not common in USA, but among ancient and modern Japanese dwellings and other buildings there is a well-developed interplay of inside and outside. Things like outdoor furniture, walkways, verandas that extend from the side of the building, and carpet-like open spaces of moss all give the impression of being habitable, something like the interior spaces, but without the same control of temperature, humidity, and light. Worldview and the relationships between outdoor creatures and conditions differ in each society. For many generations in USA this was an adversarial relationship: fighting the cold, resisting the humidity, defending against insect infestation or wild animals living in the built space. But this recent house construction shows this more open relationship with the outdoors now.