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Architects: FujiwaraMuro Architects
- Area: 61 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Katsuya. Taira
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Manufacturers: Saint-Gobain, KOUSEI, NEW LIGHT POTTERY
Text description provided by the architects. This residence is located in a residential neighborhood slightly removed from a busy thoroughfare. Although the setting did not offer ideal views, the lot is bound on three sides by streets with houses on the other side, making it easy to avoid unwanted visibility.
Responding to the client’s desire for privacy, we avoided locating large windows where they would be noticeable from outside and instead constructed two layers of external walls on the second story, with openings in the inner layer to let in light and breezes.
Inside, five tower-like boxes finished in cement plaster occupy the center and four corners of the structure. Light enters these towers through voids in their upper portions. The space between the towers contains the first-floor living-dining-kitchen area, which features a 4.5-meter-high ceiling. Looking up, one glimpses pieces of sky framed by the openings in the tops of the towers. Sunlight scatters off the walls, creating a living environment filled with soft light.
The towers contain small rooms that offer cozy, enclosed spaces in contrast to the interconnected living-dining-kitchen area. The central tower is entered via a ladder from the ground floor, and contains a room measuring 2 jo (about 3.6 square meters) where residents can relax and enjoy views of the sky through the glass overhead. The house includes a number of similar small spaces without predefined uses, such as a crawl space under the floor, a lookout-like area to climb to, and a sunroom and balcony on the second floor.
