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Architects: Studio KOM
- Area: 54 m²
- Year: 2024
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Photographs:Akira Nakamura
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Manufacturers: Cocentino, KSAG, Pacific Textile, Tajima, Timber Crew
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Lead Architects: Studio KOM / Keisuke Okamoto and Maria
Text description provided by the architects. Newlywed life is a process of accepting a person who has walked a different life path into your own internal world. The encounter with different values is both refreshing and fleetingly lonely, much like moments of poignant sadness amidst a wonderful adventure. Architecture sometimes captures this fleeting poignancy of a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
To always enjoy the ephemeral beauty of adventure, the theme was set as "an endless stay at the most prestigious hotel." The design of our home began as a personal and transient record of incorporating the earthly beauty we experienced during our honeymoon in New Zealand and Australia into our living space.
The basic grid is an RC rigid frame made of units measuring 5.4m × 6.3m. The floors were removed for half a span up to the entrance, leaving only a floating approach corridor. The remaining 1.5 units are contained within the private quarters, and the balcony extending out from there by 1/4 of a unit (2.7m x 3.1m) is clearly designed for indoor use within the private quarters. This luxurious approach and balcony, located on opposite sides, were the main attractions of the existing space, fully functioning as devices to convert the bustling Tokyo environment into a rich living experience.
The entrance hall needed to dramatically and symbolically embrace the luxurious scale of the aforementioned approach. Hinting at the southern balcony from the entrance was seen as necessary to maximize the charm of the existing space. With the existing duct space clinging to the wall and the effective ceiling height under the large beam being around 1900 mm, a washbasin was placed under the beam, designed like a gate. This serves as a place to wash hands upon returning home, transitioning from urban space to living space, or checking one's appearance before leaving, transitioning from living space to urban space. By spatially representing the act of switching between two spheres, we aimed to redefine the entrance hall as the "ON-OFF border."
The kitchen and workspace were placed adjacent to each other, maintaining a dynamic relationship, and positioned along the wall connecting the balcony to the entrance. The beautiful water surface of Lake Erskine in New Zealand, a memorable spot from our travels, was represented by the usage of wet extruded tiles, allowing the rich sunlight entering from the balcony to reach the entrance gate. Tiles with a glaze made from rough chamotte soil mixed with various metal powders reflect light in different ways, creating a beautiful sequence as one walks through the house.
Architecture and interior design overlap yet cherish different values. This is the couple's first place to live together and the first step in a joint project. The boundaries between their lifestyles, between on and off, and between the city and the living space were carefully woven together. "Boundary" is an important keyword for this plan, and this space has been named "Bounds" in the hope that the living environment will continue to evolve as their lifestyles change in the future.
