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Architects: Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates
- Area: 160 m²
- Year: 2013
This is the project for two-family house by reconstruction. Every time I witnessed the demolition work before reconstruction, I’ve had some uncomfortable feelings by the view of vacant land. The old house is a building containing lots of thoughts and memories for the owner and it is also a part constituting the townscape from the community viewpoint. Therefore, based on the idea that there should be a way to renew the house while keeping the old townscape even in reconstruction project, I proposed a house with Japanese-style outlook to fit naturally into the existing fence and external garden.
As for the interior, I made many studies to emphasize the boundary between two families. In the final plan the exterior buffer space (inner garden) is placed between two houses to set the boundary, just as buildings in residential area stand side by side with adequate sense of distance. Common entrance and desk space are positioned in the same manner. Unlike the houses in a townscape it is the boundary within a family here, therefore four houses facing each other are loosely connected in the interior while each maintaining its independence by slanted ceiling. Line of sight is adequately blocked by the difference of elevation with inner garden to secure a moderate level of privacy.
The outlook is designed referring to existing fences and gardens and the interior was constructed using the spatial relationship between houses in residential area. This housing project is designed not by creating totally new ideas of the designer, but by trying to utilize existing relationship.
