Hasta La Ideas

This concrete house in Tokyo was designed by Japanese firm Apollo Architects & Associates for a family that regularly accommodates foreign exchange students (+ slideshow).

As well as two bedrooms and a large family living room for the house’s main occupants, Apollo Architects & Associates included a pair of guest bedrooms that open out to a private terrace at the front of the house.

“One of the key design concepts is to respect the privacy of the family and guests to achieve comfortable and relaxing lifestyles,” said studio principal Satoshi Kurosaki.

The terrace is invisible to people passing on the street because it is hidden behind stainless steel louvres, which interrupt the raw concrete that otherwise dominates the house’s exterior walls.

“The authentic and solid materiality of concrete is contrasted by sharp stainless steel louvres and this facade gives a touch of elegance to the streetscape of the neighbourhood,” added Kurosaki.

Named Calm, the three-storey residence is located in Bunkyo, just north of central Tokyo.

Rooms are arranged around a courtyard in the south-east corner of the building. On the ground floor, it sits adjacent to a music room and a traditional Japanese room that can also function as a spare bedroom.

Sliding doors allow all three spaces to open out to one another, as well as to the entrance hall and dining room behind.

“The floor can be used as a large open space welcoming many guests on occasions such as lectures, parties and more,” said the architect.

Balconies overlook the courtyard from the first and second floors above, plus a steel staircase connects it with a terrace on the roof of the building.

The living and dining room occupies the majority of the second floor, creating a space big enough to host a large group. A kitchen lined with mosaic tiles runs alongside and is lit from above by a narrow rectangular skylight.

Guests also have access to a separate bathroom, which is located on the ground floor.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here’s a project description from Apollo Architects:

Calm

This three-story residence is designed to function not only as a house but as a guesthouse that occasionally accommodates foreign guests and exchange students. It is made of concrete using wood formworks composed of 40mm-wide cedar.

The authentic and solid materiality of concrete is contrasted by sharp stainless steel louvres covering the second floor window, and this facade gives a touch of elegance to the streetscape of the neighbourhood. Louvres effectively provide security and privacy at the same time.

On the first floor, a Japanese-style room, which is used as guest room, is located in the back. It is attached to a courtyard enveloped in exposed concrete walls with inscribed horizontal patterns of cedar formworks. By opening the sliding doors, it is seamlessly connected to open space facing the street.

The first floor can be used as a large open space welcoming many guests on occasions such as lectures, parties and more. Toilets and bathrooms for guests are located next to the entrance hall. A soundproof music studio is located at the end of the entrance hall. It is illuminated with soft natural light from the courtyard filtering through the translucent glass facade.

On the second floor, main bedroom and child’s room are located adjacent to the courtyard. Each room has a private courtyard and individual or common bathroom attached. One of the key design concepts is to respect privacy of the family and guests to achieve comfortable and relaxing life styles.

Spacious family room with an attached bathroom is provided on the third floor. By fully opening up wide stainless steel windows, the interior space is integrated with the courtyard of exposed concrete. One can access the roof balcony by exterior stairs from the third floor.

Our goal is to create an ultimate space for relaxation, like a hotel lobby or a salon, where one can feel free to enjoy himself/herself and appreciate elegant Joseon Dynasty-style furniture and art works that are placed here and there.

The interior and the exterior merge into each other at intermediate zones, and the host and the guests gather in harmony. This very atmosphere represents the warm welcoming hospitality of the Japanese culture.

Architecture: Satoshi Kurosaki/APOLLO Architects & Associates
Location: Bunkyo ward, Tokyo
Date of Completion: April 2013
Principal Use: Private Housing

Structure: Reinforced Concrete
Site Area: 125.81 sqm
Building Area: 88.05 sqm
Total Floor Area: 225.67 sqm (70.55 sqm/1F, 74.53 sqm/2F, 73.67 sqm/3F, 6.92 sqm/PHF)

Structure Engineers: Masaki Structure (Kenta Masaki)
Facility Engineers: Shimada Architects (Zenei Shimada)
Construction: Maekawa Construction
Exterior Finish: Exposed Concrete
Floor: Ash Black Oil Flooring
Wall: Stucco
Ceiling: Stucco

The post Concrete Calm house by Apollo Architects
designed to accommodate exchange students appeared first on Dezeen.

A long white staircase leads straight to the top floor of this small house in Tokyo by Japanese office Apollo Architects & Associates.

The two-storey house accommodates both a family home and a photographer’s studio, so Apollo Architects & Associates designed a building that can be split into two when necessary.

The lower level contains the studio and a bedroom, while the upper floor houses an open-plan living room and kitchen. A ladder also leads up from here to a mezzanine loft, which can function as a guest bedroom or children’s playroom.

The house has an asymmetric profile, created by a lopsided roof. Clerestory windows run along the steepest edge of this roof to bring in light without overlooking the neighbours.

“An unblocked sky view from the skylight has the effect of making one forget that the house is in a densely populated residential area,” explain the architects.

The gently sloping staircase forms the house’s main entrance, leading up beside an angled wall to meet the first-floor balcony. “[The stairs] function as a novelty to invite visitors,” say the architects.

A small patio is sheltered below and can be used as a direct entrance to the photography studio.

Led by Satoshi Kurosaki, Apollo Architects & Associates has completed several residential projects in recent months. Others include a house with skylights in the roof and holes in the floor plates and a surgeon’s residence with courtyards behind its walls. See more architecture by Apollo Architects & Associates.

Other houses completed in Japan this year include a residence inside a monolithic white cube and a house with a crooked blue spine. See more Japanese houses.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here’s a project description from Apollo Architects & Associates:

Arrow

This SOHO house is built on a portion of the lot of the owner’s parents’ house. Part of the first floor is used as a photo studio, and the living spaces are made on the second floor where the entrance is located. Since the divided lot is long and narrow, an exterior design was required that utilises the depth of the approach while considering the distance from and contrast with the main house.

By employing an open style with glass walls for the photo studio facade on the first floor, an intermediate space, albeit small, is unified with the exterior and brings comfort.

The shallow sloped approach-stairs to the second floor entrance nicely match the sharp inclined wall and constitute the characteristic facade, and as a result they function as a novelty to invite visitors. The pitched roof formed by the regulation on the north side creates a unique exterior and interior appearance. Light from the slit-shaped skylight on the peak of the roof casts dramatic shadows in the entirely white-coloured room. An unblocked sky view from the skylight also has the effect of making one forget that the house is in a densely populated residential area.

The second floor is an open one-room space, including the loft space that is accessed by a ladder, and can be used for multiple purposes. The rhythmic continuation of the “diagonal” elements, which are glimpsed in many spaces, creates a comfortable unease in the room.

One of the characteristics of this house is the non-existence of a clear border between ON/OFF, since the living space, where one can play with a variety of natural lights, is used as a space for taking photos.

Architecture: Satoshi Kurosaki/APOLLO Architects & Associates
Location: Shinagawa ward Tokyo
Date of Completion: March 2013
Principal Use: Private Housing
Structure: Steel Framing

Site Area: 118.36m2
Building Area: 46.43m2
Total Floor Area: 84.22m2 (42.11m2/1F, 42.11m2/2F)
Structural Engineer: Kenta Masaki
Mechanical Engineer: Zenei Shimada

The post Arrow by Apollo Architects
& Associates appeared first on Dezeen.

This narrow house on a high street in Tokyo by Apollo Architects & Associates features a glazed ground-floor gallery (+ slideshow).

The three-storey house has a long and slim shape that is common for city residences in Japan, which are often referred to as eel’s beds or nests.

Apollo Architects & Associates designed the building with a simple rectangular facade and added the glazed gallery in a prominent position on the left-hand side. The entrance to the house sits to the right and is recessed to create a sheltered porch.

A grid of eight windows stretches across the facade on the upper levels to bring natural light into the two main residential storeys.

On the first floor, a blue-painted partition separates a small study from a traditional Japanese room, while a bathroom is tucked away at the back.

One floor up, a single room spans the building to create a living room with a kitchen at its far end.

The staircase connecting the three floors is made from steel and features open treads that allow light to pass through. It extends up to the roof, which accommodates a small terrace.

Apollo Architects & Associates is led by Satoshi Kurosaki and also recently completed a house with three courtyards behind a concrete exterior. See more architecture by Apollo Architects & Associates.

Other Japanese houses on Dezeen recently include an extension with two tree inside it and a residence with twisted proportions generated using the Fibonacci mathematical sequence. See more houses in Japan.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here’s some more information from Apollo Architects & Associates:

Flag (Nakano Ward, Tokyo)

The site for this residence is narrow on the side facing the shopping district and long in the other direction, just like an “eel’s bed”. The facade is composed of large openings arranged in a regular grid.

The couple – a husband who works for an advertisement company and wife who works for a furniture store – is an active DINKS (double-income, no kids) couple.

The first floor is the glazed gallery which opens toward the street. Even though the house is compact, it can generate income when also used as a shop and by including a space for people to gather, it attains a public character. It is an urban residence which can offer a lifestyle of the future.

Location: Nakano ward, Tokyo
Completion: 2013.01

Site area: 45.19 sqm
Building area: 34.59 sqm
1F floor area: 31.09 sqm
2F floor area: 34.59 sqm
3F floor area: 34.59 sqm
PH floor area: 3.95 sqm
Total floor area: 105.03 sqm

Structure: Steel
Scale: 3F
Typology: Private housing + Retail

Structures: Masaki Structures, Kneta Masaki
Facility engineers: Shimada Architects, Zenei Shimada
Construction: Ido Construction

The post Flag by Apollo Architects
& Associates appeared first on Dezeen.

The top floor of this Tokyo house by Japanese architects Apollo appears to be caving in.

Located on a hillside, the three-storey residence has a large roof terrace and oversized windows that overlook the city.

The angled second floor walls slope around a children’s bedroom, whilst a lightweight metal staircase winds down to a living room and balcony on the floor below.

A master bedroom and two bathrooms occupy the ground floor, alongside a garage for storing and repairing the client’s motorcycle.

Floors throughout the house are surfaced in dark walnut, as are cabinets in the living room and kitchen.

Apollo Architects & Associates have completed a few houses with angled walls – see all our stories about them here.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

Vista (Nishidai Itabashi ward Tokyo)

The clients were a husband-and-wife couple. He works as the director of an advertising agency, while she works in the food business.

The couple purchased a plot of land that faces the cliff of a plateau and commissioned us to build a wooden three-storey residence for themselves and their child.

In order to make the most of the magnificent view overlooking the north side of the plot, we decided to activate the latent potential of the location by installing panoramic windows inside the house that would give the residents an unobstructed view of the scenic surroundings.

The first floor was compactly outfitted with a small, Japanese style straw-matted bedroom, as well as a bathroom and dressing area with an attached terrace.

Each of these spaces commanded a handsome view of the landscape outside.

The second storey was configured as a single, open room with an attached roof balcony.

Bookshelves were also installed on the structural walls, while a table at the edge of the dining area provides a comfortable space for reading, creating a library-like atmosphere.

In addition, we made an effort to emphasize the impression of diving downwards that results from the height difference between the dining room and the living area.

The child’s room and a large outdoor living space are located on the third floor, which also offers the residents a full, untrammeled view of the beautiful landscape surrounding the house.

Although the scenery visible from the terraces located on each floor is identical, the varied character of each space ensures that a different impression of this single landscape is created each time.

In addition to a car-sized parking space, the entrance to the house also includes a built-in bike garage for the owner’s beloved Ducati motorbike that offers ample room for maintenance and cleaning work to be carried out.

Standing at the foot of the slope and looking up at this sleek, white mass that seems to float on top of the hill, the viewer is struck by this symbolic, monumental presence – an impression that contrasts sharply with the closed appearance presented by the front entrance.

The spatial character of this house, which embodies elements that are both mundane and extraordinary, demonstrates the wealth of possibilities that can be realized in urban residential architecture.

Architecture: Satoshi Kurosaki/APOLLO Architects & AssociatesProject Outline

Location: Nishidai Itabashi ward Tokyo
Date of Completion: 2011.8
Principal Use: Private housing

Structure: Timber structure
Site Area: 54.86㎡
Total Floor Area: 111.78㎡ /1F(42.02㎡),2F(47.41㎡),3F(22.35㎡)
Structure engineers: Masaki Structure Laboratory, Kenta Masaki

Facility engineers: Shimada Architects, Zenei Shimada
Construction: Honma Construction
Material Information
Exterior Finish: hydrotect colorcoat eco-ex

Floor: Walnut Flooring
Wall: Wall paper
Ceiling: Wall paper

Japanese firm Apollo Architects & Associates have completed a house in Sendai, Japan, with a balcony that cantilevers half over the enclosed courtyard and half over the footpath outside.

Called Edge, the house sits on a corner plot in a busy area.

The living areas open out to this courtyard, with a Japanese style room, storage and a further smaller courtyard at the back of the house all arranged on the ground floor.

Concrete steps lead from the walled courtyard up to a roof terrace on the first floor where the bedrooms are located.

All our stories by Apollo Architects & Associates »

More Japanese houses on Dezeen »
More residential architecture on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Masao Nishikawa.

The following information is from the architects:

Located in the suburbs of Sendai, the site for this project was in the vicinity of two existing residential buildings designed by other architects. This house was therefore designed by taking into consideration how it would blend harmoniously into the surrounding area. The facade of the building was covered in concrete in order to provide the inhabitants with a sense of privacy, as well as to ensure that signs of life within the house were not visible from the outside.

The outer walls of the building made of reinforced concrete, externally insulated due to the cold northern climate, were also coated with a photocatalyst that gave them a white gleam.

Another distinctive feature of the house was the sleek and lightweight impression created by the sharp profile of the eaves and small, sleeve-like walls detached from the building proper – both designed in order to soften the heaviness of the reinforced concrete.

A central courtyard sits in front of the entrance to the house on the first floor, while another courtyard that adjoins the south side of the family room also connects to the outdoor deck, establishing a sense of continuity with the raised tatami-floored space. The use of unfinished concrete for the interior walls and ceilings gives the impression of a gleaming, black hardness in relation to the white facade, creating a contrast between the interior and exterior of the house.

Climbing the staircase to the second floor while gazing out at the maple trees in the central courtyard, a bedroom comes into view. Going up another short flight of steps takes you to the children’s room, bathroom, and a spacious balcony.

Click for larger image

By creating numerous intermediate zones that straddle the inside and outside of the house – a rooftop and balcony that provide opportunities for gardening, for instance – the inhabitants can enjoy their living environment all throughout the building.

Click for larger image

In addition to being a carefully considered response to sites that see a fair amount of pedestrian traffic, the courtyard house typology is also deployed in residential architecture as a way of creating a permanent sanctuary for nature in an urbanizing neighborhood.

See also:

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Shift by Apollo Architects & Associates	Flow by Apollo Architects & Associates	Parabola House by Atelier Tekuto