The site is located in a built-up residential area in downtown Tokyo, at the end of a narrow alley. It is a tiny plot of land measuring 67?.
The clients family consists of 6 members: the parents, the young couple and their two children. This double-household residence features the parents living space in the basement, bedrooms for the couple and their children on ground floor, the living room on second floor and the loft as the storage to be shared by each floor. A set of external stairs provides the only vertical access. I am personally interested in seeing how this family would enjoy the program of this space.
Small housing sites stem from various factors, the high cost of Tokyo economy being one. This house is an example of an approach of facilitating change of texture and increasing spatial density and depth inside a limited land area by laminating layers on external walls. I have been taking a variety of approaches with a single material in the past, but this time come up with a solution of layering several kinds of materials.
Wire sheet glass, steel sheet, laminated plywood, thermal insulation, PB, wood, and FRP are used in appropriate places conforming to legal restrictions. Vertical load is supported by 2×8 and 2×12 timber. Positioning of plywood are determined so that bearing walls would also function as back boards of shelves. Timber and plywood will be factory-assembled into panels in order to reduce transportation and construction costs.
The structure has a depth which contributes to the adjustment of light as in a brise soleil. An air-conditioning system will be packaged among the gaps between the layers of different materials, in order to ensure a comfortable living environment. I wish that the layering of functions would move us from the floor-wall concept toward an integrated, more commodious spatial entirety.
2004
2005
Site Area: 67.14?
Floor Area: 101.50?
Construction Area: 33.56?
Wood + RC structure
Basement + 2story
Design: Yasuhiro Yamashita/ Atelier Tekuto
Structural Engineer: Jun Satoh Structural Engineers
Construction: Home Builder Co.,Ltd
makoto yoshida
