Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

Lift by Apollo Architects and Associates

Here’s another house in Sendai, Japan, by Apollo Architects & Associates (see their Edge House in our earlier story) that features a pointy overhang.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

The living areas are located on the first floor and lead out onto a terrace with sloping facade, which cantilevers over a car port below.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

Slits in the enclosed terrace allow slight views out to the street.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

A bedroom, storage and music room are all arranged on the ground floor around a central corridor that leads out onto a little courtyard.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

A child’s bedroom is located at the rear of the house on the upper level, separated from the living room and kitchen by the courtyard.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

Photographs are by Masao Nishikawa.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

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Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

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Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

Here is some more information from the architects:


This urban residence is located in a residential district in downtown Sendai. Constructed out of wood without the use of any pilotis or other supporting structures, the building features an upper floor that protrudes dramatically outward in order to ensure adequate parking space for two cars on a lot with restricted frontage.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

The size of the windows and other openings on the closed facade of the building have been kept to an absolute minimum as a precaution against crime, as well as a privacy feature.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

In contrast, the interior of the house, which centers on the internal courtyard, is an open, generous and well-lit expanse of space. The first floor houses several small, comfortable private spaces, such as a bedroom and audio room.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

The second floor has been conceived as a single, continuous space filled with natural light, allowing unobstructed lines of sight and free-flowing ventilation.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

The tatami-floored living room enjoys the “borrowed landscape” (shakkei) of maple trees in the courtyard, creating a tranquil atmosphere that allows the inhabitants to forget the fact that they are in the city.

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Light reflected by the louvers on the slanted facade help to create a bright interior. The louvers also serve to obstruct lines of sight into the house from the outside while allowing the residents clear, unobstructed views of the exterior from inside the building.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

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The children’s room that straddles the central courtyard was designed in such a way as to separate it from the メwombモ of the main building. The variety of scenery provided by each of these spaces is a particular perk of living in urban residences located in the heart of the city.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

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The notion of the urban residential building can no longer be confined just to Tokyo: it has now become firmly established as a sensible, intelligent concept that can be applied to all cities.

Lift by Apollo Architects & Associates

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For modern urbanites, the lifestyles resulting from these small spaces offer them a more comfortable living environment than residences that are larger than necessary.


See also:

.

Flow by Apollo Architects
& Associates
Torreagüera Vivienda Atresada by XpiralMAK Gallery by
Space International

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

Edge by Apollo Architects and Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

All our stories by Apollo Architects & Associates »

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

Photographs are by Masao Nishikawa.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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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.

Edge by Apollo Architects & Associates

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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:

.

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