Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Site Size: 1,121 square feet (plus 280-square-foot terrace)
Project Size: 1,649 square feet
Program: The clients desired as much light and sense of openness as possible in a tight site. Lodged between two buildings, the house is approximately 15 feet wide and 70 feet deep.
Solution: The architects decided against jamming a single mass into the constricted space. Instead, they stacked three rectangular concrete volumes and dressed them with floor-to-ceiling windows. The first floor contains a work space, guest area, and bathroom; the second, a sitting area, bath, and master bedroom. With a lounge, kitchen, and dining areas, the third floor connects to an outdoor terrace.
Like a “plant in pursuit of light,” the twisting volumes emphasize access to the outdoors. The structurally continuous floor-wall-ceiling frame forms a fold held together by slender steel columns. (The columns range in diameter from 3.15 inches on the first and second floor to 2.4 inches on the third.) The seismic forces are transmitted downward through the concrete fold, and lateral torsion is countered by this beams-become-columns-become-beams solution. The house was completed in December 2011.
PeopleCompletion Date: 12/2011 Gross square footage: 1649 sq ft (+ 280 sq ft roof terrace)
Architect:
Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Engineer(s):
Consultant(s): Textile: Yoko Ando General contractor: Yabusaki Corp.
Photographer(s): |
Products
Structural system
Exterior cladding
Metal/glass curtain wall: Curtain wall: see above
Other cladding unique to this project:
Roofing
Windows
Glazing
Insulated-panel or plastic glazing:
Doors
Sliding doors:
Interior finishes
Paints and stains: Floors: screed with underfloor heating on concrete slab Walls/ceilings: exposed concrete
Special interior finishes unique to this project:
Furnishings
Tables:
Upholstery:
Other furniture (use additional sheet if necessary): hammocks
Lighting
Task lighting:
Exterior:
Dimming System or other lighting controls: |
