Airhouse

A house designed for Takao, a district of Hachiōji city in Tokyo prefecture. Although its flagpole-shaped plot is surrounded by other buildings, the mountains of Takao can be glimpsed through gaps to the north and south. In this case, we wanted to incorporate nature into the design of the building, including the character of the surrounding landscape. We situated a living-dining kitchen area in the center of an atrium space with a height of five meters. The atrium is connected to an inner terrace, with a five-meter tall sliding door positioned at the boundary with the outside, beyond which we have placed a glass-roofed terrace. This configuration allows the light and greenery of the trees to filter indoors, enabling the sensation of being out of doors even when inside. In addition, opening the five-meter sliding door creates a sense of openness, as though the interior of the room were suddenly outside when a breeze flows through the house – as if the walls have disappeared. The four voluminous enclosures clad with wooden boards house private rooms and water facilities. Each of these rooms connects to the space of the central atrium, allowing family members to keep tabs on one another. The enclosures are also each linked with bridges, so that each room will be accessed through the living room. The creation of multiple levels offers the enjoyment of moving along loft-like walkways. The house is designed with the idea of enabling a sense of nature in everyday life, and so that no matter where they are, family members will be able to appreciate the rich experience of life together.

This wood-frame single-family home for a couple and their three daughters is located in the Nakagawa district of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. One of the clients’ main requests was that they be able to adjust the divisions between rooms as their family changed over time. To meet this request, we came up with a design that consists of two open spaces layered on top of each other. Each of these large rooms has a grid of beams but no posts, so that flooring can be laid or removed and room partitions added or taken down as desired, allowing the family to easily change the layout in the future. (Even the current walls that reach the ceiling are built like partitions, without posts.) When the family first moved in, their daughters were young, so solid walls were not necessary; they instead divided spaces using curtains fixed to rails embedded in the beams (the beam design allows the rails to be moved to other locations in the future). As a result, soft light filled the entire structure, and the open, one-room spaces allowed family members to sense one another’s presence wherever they were. This, however, is only the first stage in the life of the house. We look forward to seeing how it evolves together with the family in the future.

This reinforced concrete residence is located in the town of Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture. While it is a new building with an earthquake-resistant structure, the design features rustic textures. A semi-exterior roofed terrace brings pleasant natural light and air into the open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, which has a double-height ceiling and is surrounded on both floors by bedrooms and other private spaces. This design serves to link all the rooms to the natural environment outside as well as to ensure family members can sense one another’s presence while still maintaining an appropriate distance. The reclaimed wood used to finish insulated portions of the interior brings warmth to the otherwise inorganic textures of concrete and steel, while the light fixtures, furniture, plants, and exterior finishes selected by the client complete an atmosphere that blends industrial and natural elements. Despite being newly built from the ground up, the residence has the feeling of a renovation, reflecting our belief as architects that there is value in creating new structures that nevertheless have a degree of roughness to them.

This single-family home in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture is located near two railway lines. For that reason, the design seeks to maintain an open, spacious atmosphere while also blocking out noise Reducing noise in the open-plan living-dining-kitchen area was most important, so that area is encircled by the bathrooms, storage areas, and bedrooms. The bedrooms alternate with inner terraces that function as marginal spaces in relation to the bedrooms and main living area, expanding the possible uses of these rooms and bringing light and a feeling of openness into the main living area through their glass doors, which can be opened and closed. Furthermore, the two layers of walls surrounding the living-dining-kitchen area improve insulation and help maintain a comfortable thermal environment while also blocking noise. By focusing on the concept of enclosure, we were able to solve the noise problem while also enabling family members to sense one another’s presence from the central living area. The result is a multifaceted space that is both open and comfortable.

This residence is located in the city of Iwakura, Aichi prefecture. The site is surrounded by buildings on three sides and faces a park across the road on the north side. The clients had two main requests. The first was that the spaces have an expansive feeling while at the same time not be too open to the surrounding environment. The second was that the layout provide a diversity of individual living spaces but still allow family members to sense one another’s presence. In response to these requests, we designed a structure with columnar two-story volumes in each of its four corners to serve as private living areas. The spaces between these volumes make up the shared living/dining/kitchen zone, which features a double-height ceiling with a large skylight at its peak. The high ceiling gives the space an expansive feeling, while the natural light pouring in from above provides both brightness and a sense of light shifting over time. Because all of the private rooms adjoin the open central space, all benefit from the skylight’s brightness. This layout is also intended to enable easy communication between family members on different sides of the central space. The rooms on the second floor are connected via bridges. This ensures smooth circulation, gives a loft-like feeling to some parts of the house, creates new spaces, and opens up communication between the first and second floors. As a whole the design provides a diversity of spaces without sacrificing ease of use, and creates a comfortable living environment where family members are able to sense both one another’s presence and the natural world outside.

This house is located on a narrow and long lot facing frontal roads on three sides. The client requested a home-cum-office with an open living-dining-kitchen space with high ceiling, which would be used as his own web design office; and he wanted to keep an appropriate distance between the work zone and the daily living zone where his wife does housework. Because the lot was narrow in the east-west direction, it was difficult to have a sufficient building width. Therefore, the floor plan was positioned obliquely to secure the necessary areas. The building corners were rounded to alleviate the building’s oppressive impression standing on the corner site; and an exterior space where lush greenery would be planted was provided by securing enough open space on the site. In this way, we intended to create an appropriate distance between the building and the roads and give it a gentle impression, while the lush greenery in the open area would provide natural scenery like a forest in the surrounding environment. As a result, we successfully realized architecture in the middle between house and office, and created an interior space with a natural feeling and an embracing atmosphere generated by the form based on curved lines. We think that this project is providing richness to both the family and the surrounding environment.

This renovation project is located in Nekogahora Dori, Chikusa-ku in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. Two existing “machiya” (traditional Japanese wooden tradesmen’s houses) that were adjacently built 40 years ago are connected and converted into a single structure containing a residence and a shop. In response to the client’s request to design a large dining / kitchen space to host social gatherings, we have designed the entire entrance area as the dining / kitchen space. Space for living is located on the second floor to secure privacy while the lower and upper floors are not fully separated but connected by a void space to achieve a spacious loft-like open space. The existing floor-to-ceiling partition walls are basically removed to let in light from both the east and west sides to achieve a bright living space in a Japanese-style house which is supposed to have relatively dark rooms in typical configurations. By stripping the structure to reveal the skeleton, we intend to maximize the spatial efficiency and also added structural reinforcement based on the necessary calculations. Today the number of old buildings in need for renovation is rapidly increasing, and we intend to propose an effective solution to achieve rich space by utilizing, reducing and reinforcing existing structures. (for the shop design, please see description of “machimachi”.)

A piece of land in a Japanese persimmon (kaki) orchard was offered as the project area for a residential house. As the client wanted wide open spaces with high ceilings, a structure composed of a large roof set on top of seven thick columns was used. To secure copious glass windows, private areas are located inside the columns while intervals between columns are designated as living, dining and kitchen spaces. With this composition, only the sky and the kaki orchard are visible from the inside, giving the area an open feeling while the kaki trees provide a sense of privacy from the outside world, all of which makes for a relaxed atmosphere in the interior areas. As the landscape transforms with the changing of the kaki seasons, a generous living space is produced in the house nestled among the kaki trees.

This project was a renovation of a 40-year-old reinforced concrete apartment. The spaces of the house were designed from a viewpoint of “storing clothes”. It was said that the client had a passion for fashion and loved trying on clothes or displaying newly bought clothes. The client requested a large-sized closet space. However, we thought it was a shame to completely hide away the precious clothes. Therefore, a large closet space, called a dress room, was made in the center of the plan. The room functions as a passage as well as a display storage and a hide-away storage, and the space continuously changes depending on the situation or season. By doing so, fashion blends into life, and I believe that the space became a place to change the client’s mood whenever it was passed by. This renovation project was done by constructing spaces through re-examination of the conventional ideas of clothing storage.

One of our client’s major requirements was for a living space where the presence of the family would always be felt. In response, we devised a single-roomed layout without columns that took advantage of the distinctive features of the existing warehouse. A large kitchen was installed to cater to the needs of the food-loving husband-and-wife couple. We then conceived the entire living space by taking the kitchen as a focal point, with a mix of various other activities and functions unfolding around it. Within this single-roomed space, we also created a box-like structure with a loft bedroom for the children on top of it, and private quarters including a bedroom and bathroom inside it. In order to minimize heat loss within this massive space, a 100mm layer of urethane foam was added to the walls, floors and ceiling, while a combined heat and power device was installed in the living room to heat water and provide floor heating. All openings were designed by making use of existing sash windows and doors, while glass panes were all given a double-glazing treatment to improve insulation. The façade of the building was left intact in an effort to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood, as well as due to cost considerations. The result was a comfortable, luxurious home that made effective use of existing features while also avoiding excessive expense.