Micro house by Yasutaka Yoshimura slotted between two huge windows

This tiny seaside home in Kanagawa by Japanese office Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects is contained within little more than a pair of oversized windows raised up on stilts (+ slideshow).

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Yasutaka Yoshimura designed the small building as a weekend house for a single resident and positioned it on a site measuring just three by eight metres on the edge of Sagami Bay.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Named Window House, the residence holds all its living spaces in the narrow gap between two framed windows, which offer views west towards the distant Mount Fuji from both inside the house and behind it.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

“It seemed too difficult to avoid blocking the view of the neighbourhood behind. So I designed a large opening of the same size as the sea side on the road side in order to keep the view passing through the building in the absence of the owner,” said Yoshimura.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

“It stands between land and sea and became a house as a window to see through,” he added.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

The house is raised off the ground on concrete pilotis to protect it from high tides. This creates a sheltered patio underneath with a view of the shoreline.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Concrete blocks with triangular profiles lead up into the house, arriving at a dining room and kitchen on the first floor. An indoor staircase ascends to a living room and then on to a tiny bedroom.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

There’s also a small storage loft slotted beneath a floor, which can be accessed using a ladder that is fixed in a vertical position.

Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
Floor plans – click for larger image
Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
Sections – click for larger image
Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
East and north elevations – click for larger image
Window House by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
South and west elevations – click for larger image

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slotted between two huge windows
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Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Five wooden cabins fan out around a site on Tokyo Bay to form this capsule accommodation by Japanese office Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Located on the east coast of the bay in Kyonan, the hostel was designed by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects as five rectilinear wooden buildings with grey-painted exteriors and exposed timber interiors.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Three of the buildings accommodate guest facilities, including bathrooms, communal kitchen and dining areas, plus large Japanese-style rooms with tatami mats across the floor.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Compact bedrooms occupy the other two buildings and are stacked up on two storeys to make room for 12 in each block.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

“All the rooms have a view of the Tokyo Bay, each one becoming a space like a ship’s cabin,” says Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Each of the eleven-metre-long containers has a timber frame and follows the same dimensions as a shipping container. “The client requested guest units that had the possibility of future relocation or addition,” explain the architects.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

A car park is positioned behind the buildings, but could provide space for three extra buildings in the future.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects previously designed a holiday home that looks like a children’s shape-sorter toy.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Other capsule accommodation to feature on Dezeen include the Sleepbox Hotel filled with portable sleeping capsules and a six-bed dorm by Atelier Van Lieshout.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Photography is by Yasutaka Yoshimura.

Here are some extra details from the architects:


Hostel in Kyonan
2012 / Chiba Japan / Hostel

This private training center has 2 capsule-hotel and 3 tatami-style buildings. They are positioned with various angles of axis and all the rooms have a view of the Tokyo Bay, each one becoming a space like a ship’s cabin.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

The client requested guest units that had the possibility of future relocation or addition. While clearing these requirements and in order to ensure the necessary dimension for the bedroom spaces with economy, we utilised a wooden structural frame on a standard freight-truck of adequate dimensions.

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Location: Kyonan, Chiba, Japan
Principal use: hostel
Category: newly built
Structure: steel, 1 storey
Completion date: 2012

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects

Site area: 1,013.22 sqm
Building area: 149.85 sqm
Total floor area: 149.85 sqm
Structural engineer: ASA
General contractor: Ajiro Koumuten

Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
Site plan – click for larger image
Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
Building type one – click for larger image
Hostel in Kyonan by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
Building type two – click for larger image

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Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
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