- Area: 383 m²
- Year: 2011
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Photographs:Masao Nishikawa
Text description provided by the architects. An apartment for rent that built in residential area near from center of Fukuoka in Japan. It has 14 dwelling units. Our client required an apartment that keeps being loved long. We came to the conclusion “Tower of diamond-shaped plan” after a lot of studies.
To be loved long following 4 points are required.
-High ceiling
-View
-Lighting and ventilation from two or more azimuths
-High earthquake-resistant performance
It sounds like all ordinary, but is the contents which are apt to be sacrificed by the reason of economic rationality (the biggest capacity digestion, building cost minimization) in the design of apartment for rent in Japan.
At first we thought to make a building high to secure high ceiling and view. Regulation of shadow prescribed the upper limit of the height at this site. As a result of having examined various building forms, we found placement and the shape of plan which could make a building high as we wanted. We put a building to the south side of the site as much as possible and made diamond-shaped plan which put the angles of the wall of the north and south surface together to a sunlight angle at 8:00 a.m. at winter solstice. Furthermore, by the distance from the site border in the north side, there is not the occlude feeling in the lower floor either.
Next, Typical floor consists of 2 dwelling units (for each 50m2) to get enough lighting and ventilation and each dwelling unit faced outside in 3 directions.
And we set setting against the horizontal power of the earthquake to 1.25 times that became the same level as a public building. Assuming it, we made members of structure into minimum size to make space with feeling of strain and expanse
