Studio J. Jih's Periscope House Solves for Residential Density Through an Innovative Approach to Form

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Boston, MA—Studio J. Jih has transformed and expanded a home in the dense residential neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, on Boston’s outskirts, into a unique, light-flooded sanctuary. Called Periscope House, the renovation is defined by strategically placed apertures and softly curving walls that direct light and guide movement while retaining privacy. The design solves for issues of increasingly overstuffed residential neighborhoods (privacy between neighbors, lack of outdoor views and ample light) through an innovative approach to form, while referencing traditional 1960s/70s single-family architecture through approachable materials like stucco and slatted wooden siding.

Explains principal J. Roc Jih: “The home’s curved walls and precise apertures gently reorient the body and the gaze to produce both extroverted views and introverted spaces that negotiate between exterior neighbors and interior occupants. The contradictory acts of turning within and looking afar, born of contradictory domestic desires, become linked ends of the periscope.”

The project is sited in a single-family residential neighborhood, which were largely constructed as small-scale ranch houses in the ’60s and ’70s in pursuit of the American Dream. In recent years, many have been added onto, exponentially increasing the area’s density and complicating the desire for privacy and outdoor space. The homeowners of this project similarly approached J. Roc Jih to expand a 1964 single-story ranch house, while also seeking to retain the quietude, privacy, and connection to nature and light of the single-family ideal.

Jih’s resulting design adds a story, transforming the home into a modern cubic volume clad in warm gray horizontal cement fiberboard siding on one side, and vertical blonde Accoya siding on the other. Precise and diverse windows punctuate the facade. Most strikingly, a tall, narrow aperture suspends over the entrance at the end of a curved, funneling wall—an architectural figure that operates as one end of the home’s organizational periscope, directing both exterior and interior movement. “This simultaneously solves an interior circulation need and frames the critical exterior view over the Boston skyline, while sheltering the main entrance,” says Jih.

This exterior curve introduces a series of rounded volumes within, which all play multiple roles: organizing programs, softening corners, refracting light, and softly guiding the body and the gaze. The result is a blend of private but still light-filled spaces in what might otherwise be a confrontational cubic interior. Entering the front door, a curved wall bends towards a central cylindrical volume, which contains the staircase, and directs movement into a kitchen and double-height dining/living area beyond. The living room in particular is framed by curved elements such as the sculptural stair to the curving walls, which guide occupants to the entry and bar areas. “The living room would otherwise be particularly boxy, a condition complicated by a significant number of connections to other spaces,” says Jih. “Rather than produce a series of potentially disorienting apertures, connections, and corridors, the play of light across curving surfaces invites exploration and smooth movement from space to space.”

Natural light fills this open-format common area through windows that have been carefully placed in direct response to the homeowners’ daily rituals. For instance, a south-facing clerestory allows for a continuous, modulating beam of light to penetrate dining, living, and kitchen throughout the day. Window placement is also informed by the proximity to next-door neighbors on either side of the home, with privacy in mind. Says Jih: “They were interested in very specific qualities of light, and that’s a large part of why the periscope came to be. A lot of work went into choosing where each program went as a corollary to the flow of the homeowners’ day.” 

The application of pale, matte materials augments the diffusion of light throughout. Walls are matte dove white to allow for the play of light across curved wall surfaces without glare, while floors are a white oiled ash wood, offering a subtle, warm luster. Angular light fixtures create visual anchors where curved walls and thresholds separate programs. 

Ascending the staircase leads to a series of expansive views that further alleviate feelings of neighborhood congestion. The top of the stair funnels directly towards the facade’s signature rectangular periscope window. Scaled to the height of a body, it bathes the second floor hallway with light and opens a view over the city. Adjacent, a reading nook situated in an expansive corner window provides a second anchor to the front facade. Outfitted with seating and shelving, it merges extroverted views over the Boston skyline and introverted privacy for reading. Elsewhere on the second floor, a primary bedroom suite incorporates a serene primary bath, referencing Japanese saunas. Formal elements such as softly rounded cast concrete sinks and circular mirrors ringed in built-in lighting subtly replicate the home’s essential curvatures and periscopes. ​ 

Says Jih: “I’m interested in the way that the figure of the curves in the periscopes operates on the figures of the inhabitants. They are in constant dialogue, and there is a very specific choreography produced between the two. It’s a figure that is both contextually responsive to tight neighbors while also capturing sunlight and responding to the interior demands of the clients.” 

Project Credits:

Project Architect: J. Roc Jih

Completion: 2024

GC: Groom Construction

Photography by Randy Crandon:

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