I began by reflecting on the act of building a house.
When someone finally builds the home they have long dreamed of, does that process also offer a sense of hope or possibility to the people around them? Paradoxically, construction inevitably accompanies a form of destruction, and I wondered whether there might still be a way for the process—even in small moments—to make others a little happier.

This project takes its name from that question: “Our Next Door.”
I hoped that one small house in our neighborhood could become a welcoming house—a place whose presence quietly brightens the adjacent homes and gently shifts how the surroundings are perceived. A home built for cherished people should also be recognized as a good place by others who pass by or live nearby.

What makes a detached house compelling is not the need to adapt to a pre-given space, but the ability to inhabit spaces shaped by one’s own sense of use and meaning. This house embraces that charm—a home that grows through the intentions of its residents and offers a warm, modest sense of hospitality to its neighborhood.