This office and workshop for a theatre designer in Osaka was designed by Japanese studio Mattch to look like a glazed box hovering between two solid curtains (+ slideshow).
Nagoya-based Mattch wanted to reference the profession of the client with the design of S-Office, so developed a building with an L-shaped outer structure that frames the activities of its occupants like actors on a stage.
“A curtain of the stage opens and becomes the background,” explained studio co-founder Takenaka Ryuji.
Each floor of the three-storey building has a different function, so was given a different-sized floor plate. The middle storey is the largest, so it projects ahead of the ground floor to shelter the entrance and create the impression of a floating structure.
Inside, a turquoise-painted steel staircase spans the height of the building and is lit from above by a large skylight.
This contrasts with a series of exposed steel ceiling beams that have been picked out in red, as well as other structural details highlighted in shades of blue and yellow.
The ground floor accommodates a double-height workshop for producing props, while an office for quiet work is located on the split-level first floor and the upper level contains a top-lit meeting room.
The office uses a half-landing as part of its floor space. It also features wall-mounted shelving units that follow the diagonal line of the exposed steel bracing.
These shelving units reappear on the second floor, this time in a horizontal arrangement. Here, they line a semi-circular alcove which holds the meeting area.
This space is illuminated by a cluster of colourful pendant lamps and looks out onto a glazed conservatory with a pitched roof.
Designer Reiichi Ikeda inserted boxy partitions that follow the pattern of existing ceiling trusses into this clothing boutique in Osaka, Japan (+ slideshow).
Reiichi Ikeda designed the narrow interior of retail store Nietzsche to display a collection of clothing brands.
The sparsely furnished all-white space has been filled with of an arrangement of counters and free-standing painted wooden partitions.
The partitions and benches are all different heights, creating a maze-like pathway through the store.
Ikeda told Dezeen the client didn’t have a strict brief, but simply requested an interior that made the clothing on display “look attractive”.
“I felt that it was important to remove the colours for displaying these clothes, so I used white in the interior rather than black,” Ikeda explained.
“There are random partitions in the long and narrow space to adjust the view, which you can find a bit too wide without these,” he added.
At the top of the new partitions, Ikeda has created a series of openings that mirror the the forms of the existing ceiling trusses in the space.
Customers can manoeuvre their way through the store around the benches and partitions to access clothing hanging on metal rails. These are attached to both the ceiling and concrete floor by long, thin metal wires.
Original wooden boards lining the ceiling and metal trusses have also been painted white.
Rectangular mirrors are attached to various sections of the walls, while bare light bulbs hang at low points throughout the store.
Here’s a project description from Reiichi Ikeda Design:
Nietzsche
This boutique carries various unique brands in Horie, Osaka.
At the first visit to this long narrow site, the trussed ceiling structures caught my eyes in the space which had only white painted walls. The trussed structures showed a presence in the blank environment, and I felt the sigh dotted with them was already made up as a good design.
I planned my design should be an extension of this existing sigh, and worked on it based on the concept of “structures + structures”. I partitioned the boutique with trussed design panels at the same places as where the trussed ceiling structures are on just to link to them.
After I made interior constructions linked to the building ones, just the shape of the structures became to handle the general public flow line. I tried transforming the functional part of the building constructions to the design element, and gave dynamic image to the boutique.
Project Name: Nietzsche Use: clothing store Location: 1-9-12-1F, Minami-Horie, Nishi-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka, Japan 550-0015 Area: 64.41 square meters Date: Aug. 17, 2013 Client: Kenji Nakai Constructor: Takakura Construction Inc. Lighting: Ushio Spax Inc.
Rows of rectangular windows are designed to frame rooms like an “advertisement board for well-designed living” on the facade of this apartment block in Tokyo by local studio PANDA (+ slideshow).
Located in Japan’s Asakusa district, the two-storey apartment block was designed by PANDA to create a home for an elderly couple to spend their final years together and provide a second apartment for rent.
Large black-framed windows create four rows across the bright white facade, allowing natural light to flood through the two apartments.
“It seems as if the facade becomes a picture frame in which lives inside the building emerge like vivid motifs of a painting, against the background of monotonous commercial buildings,” said the architect.
The apartments are stacked vertically and each have two floors of living space. Internal staircases are positioned at the front, creating double-height spaces behind the facade.
“Seen from the frontal road, the enclosed boxes containing different functions are visible through the open curtain wall,” the architect explained.
An entrance on the ground floor leads through to both apartments. The first accommodates living spaces, a bathroom and a bedroom on one floor, with two separate staircases leading up to a mezzanine loft and a storage area.
Wooden floors are spread throughout the apartment, while other surfaces are finished in white to match the exterior of the block.
The upstairs apartment features a similar layout and finish but has a smaller upper level, creating a roof terrace that can be accessed from both homes.
Photography is by Koichi Torimura.
Here’s some more text from PANDA:
Asakusa Apartments, Tokyo, Japan
This is an apartment building in a commercial area in the historical town district of Asakusa, Tokyo. Our clients, a couple in their 60’s, requested us to design their “final home” to enjoy the rest of their lives happily and comfortably, with attached rental housing units to secure a regular income after retirement. The site is placed adjacent to a park across the frontal road on the south side, while being surrounded by tall commercial buildings on three sides.
After reviewing the balance between construction cost and rental income, we decided to allocate some portion of their property for rental car parking for a steady income and use the rest to construct a building comprised of the client’s home and a rental apartment unit.
The building is a two-story wooden construction and our challenge is to build a wooden “curtain wall” facade, which would be atypical of regular wooden construction. It is because we intend to achieve the following purposes; one is to open up the facade to integrate the beautiful view of the park into the interior space, and another is that the facade is expected to act as a sort of “advertisement board” to promote a well-designed living environment of the apartment.
The building is comprised of two duplex housing units stacked vertically. Plans on 1F and 2F are flipped horizontally, except for a fixed position of the bathroom, toilet and stairs in the back, in order to locate lofts, in-floor storage and balconies effectively. Bearing walls on the front side are located between the stairs to the loft space and the bedroom, which are placed symmetrically in section.
Seen from the frontal road, the enclosed boxes containing different functions are visible through the open curtain wall. It seems as if the facade becomes a picture frame in which lives inside the building emerge like vivid motifs of a painting, against the background of monotonous commercial buildings.
Architect in charge: Kozo Yamamoto Structural engineer: a・s・t atelier Contractor: B・L home Structure: two-storey wooden Total floor area: 94.62 sqm Building area: 87.71 sqm
Japanese studio Level Architects squeezed this all-black house onto a narrow plot in Tokyo‘s Fukasawa district, adding sloping offset walls around the lower floors to protect residents’ privacy (+ slideshow).
Confronted with a long, narrow site measuring 4.6 by 17.3 metres, Level Architects‘ main concern was to create a sense of spaciousness and introduce natural light to the four-storey interior of House in Fukasawa. But this had to be done without allowing other people to see inside.
“Rather than allowing the constraining width of the plot to be felt, the goal was to create the illusion of an open connection with the surrounding area while still instilling the sense of privacy desired by most home owners within Tokyo,” said the architect.
Privacy is achieved through the windowless surfaces of the two long facades. Walls also extend from the lower storeys on the building’s shorter sides to restrict views of the interior from the surrounding streets.
The sloping roofline at the rear of the property was dictated by local building regulations, while an inclined wall above the garage allows eastern light to enter the open-plan first floor and blocks direct light from the setting sun.
A skylight at the centre of the house creates a bright area over a white-painted iron staircase that extends between all four storeys. Featuring suspended treads and minimal balustrades, it allows daylight to permeate the lower floors.
The house’s living spaces are all located on the first floor. A double-height living room with full-height windows and a terrace deliberately contrasts with the low-ceilings of the space containing the kitchen and dining area.
Bench seating surrounds two sides of the living room, while a stepped unit mounted on the other wall creates a desk and shelving which continues onto the raised level that leads to the kitchen.
The ceiling heights of the two bedrooms above differ due to the changes in the height of the spaces below. One also opens out to a secluded balcony.
A narrow loft creates a quiet study at the very top of the house, while the ground floor accommodates bathrooms, a garage and traditional Japanese room lined with tatami mats.
Here’s some project text from the architects:
House in Fukasawa, Tokyo, Japan
Located in a quiet neighbourhood where the average house is 2 stories high, the site has a narrow dimension of 4.6 meters wide and 17.3 meters long; very typical of a Tokyo city centre lot. Though the site is narrow, the length of the site created a focal point in the design. Rather than allowing the constraining width of the plot to be felt, the goal was to create the illusion of an open connection with the surrounding area while still instilling the sense of privacy desired by most home owners within Tokyo.
In order to create that sense of privacy, a wall design was incorporated on the North and South sides of the home. The southern wall is cut away in a manner which allows the eastern light to fill the interior of the house, but at the same time shield the inhabitants from the harsh rays of the setting sun. The northern wall is utilised as a reflecting board by capturing the southern light and brightening the interior, all the way down to the first floor where light is hardest to reach.
The second floor level, which is completely open and connected, utilises a very high ceiling for the living room and a low ceiling for the kitchen to differentiate space. The living room is also designed with a set of steps running around three sides of the room to create a built-in sofa and activity space where cushions can be placed, amplifying the sense of openness. The centre of the house hosts an iron staircase and top light which allows for light to filter down through the house, generating unique atmospheres which separate the individual spaces.
The third floor is broken up by different room heights as a result of the design of the second level but which is all connected around the staircase. The Master Bedroom incorporates a slanted ceiling, a result of the setback code common around the city of Tokyo, but which adds a unique element to the room. The loft space opens up to the stairwell, exposing the room to the indirect light coming down from the ceiling window.
The design adjustments made in the section planning of the house emphasised the idea of a long house, one which generates a creative use of line-of-sight and height differentiations to create the sense of a house larger than its narrow width.
Japanese architect Eto Kenta has hidden a narrow garden behind the metal-clad exterior of this house in Ōita Prefecture, Japan (+ slideshow).
The two-storey house is situated on the border between a residential neighbourhood and a grassy plain, so Eto Kenta designed a building that is closed at the front and open at the back, and named it Cave.
To the street, the building presents a wall with only two openings – a large high-level window allowing light to permeate the garden tucked behind and a doorway leading to the entrance. In this way, the facade protects the interior from prying eyes.
The narrow garden sits directly behind the wall, ahead of a large room that functions as a living space and kitchen for the family.
“Raising a large opening on the south side allows lighting and ventilation into the house, but also ensures privacy from the neighbouring houses,” said Kenta.
Sliding walls allow the living room to open out to the secluded garden. These are mirrored by a row of rear windows that slide back to reveal the interior to the field beyond.
“By operating the opening and closing in relation to the outer and inner space, we create both open and private places,” said Kenta.
A lightweight steel staircase leads up to the first floor, where three rooms sit alongside one another to create a series of bedrooms.
Two of these bedrooms feature windows overlooking the garden, while the third opens out to a patio contained behind the walls.
A second patio is located at the back and a small study provides residents with a quiet workspace facing out over the fields.
A concrete tunnel slices through the base of this Tokyo house by Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada, creating a round hole in the facade that reveals the underside of a staircase (+ slideshow).
Makiko Tsukada designed Tunnel House for a site facing a T-junction, so her concept was to produce a form that appears as a continuation of the road. The result is a curving container that cuts through the entire ground floor.
“Our design intention is to provide a visual extension of the street on the site so that it creates a virtual crossroads,” said Tsukada.
The rest of the house is planned around the tunnel, creating a series of unusual features that include a floating steel floor, a dining table beneath a staircase, a triple-height courtyard and a bedroom without a ceiling.
The architect categorises these spaces as uchi, which means “in the tunnel”, and soto, which means “out of the tunnel”.
“One of the visitors’ comments was that ‘tunnel-uchi’ and ‘tunnel-soto’ betray one’s sense of space, as one feels like being outside while actually being inside the house,” she explained.
A glazed wall exposes the full outline of the tunnel from the house’s entrance. Inside, the structure is revealed to be wrapping around a pair of lidless boxes that contain the main bedroom and bathroom.
“From the bedroom box, one can see the view of the entire ‘tunnel-uchi’ space as if seeing an exterior view from a rooftop,” said Tsukada.
Two double-height spaces behind the curving concrete accommodate a small study and a toilet. Glass doors lead out from spaces into the simple courtyard, which is sandwiched in between.
A staircase leads up onto the top of the tunnel, which doubles as a mezzanine walkway. Residents can then access a guest bedroom and dining room, located on the suspended steel floor that provides the uppermost storey.
The dining table sits over the stairwell and has a mirrored underside that creates upside-down reflections.
Photography is by Shinkenchiku-sha.
Read on for a project description from Makiko Tsukada:
Tunnel House
The site is at the end of a T-junction. Our design intention is to provide a visual extension of the street on the site so that it creates a virtual cross road. The interior space and the exterior space are connected by carving out a part of the volume along the extended axis of the street. The tunnel-like configuration is intended to activate both “uchi” (in the tunnel) and “soto” (out of the tunnel) spaces.
The open side of the quarter cylinder is enclosed by glass. The “tunnel-uchi” comprises two small boxes containing a bedroom and a bathroom respectively. The bedroom is enclosed by screen-like partitions and its ceiling is open. From the bedroom box, one can see the view of the entire “tunnel-uchi” space from there as if seeing an exterior view from a rooftop.
The opening at the side of the tunnel is connected to the “tunnel-soto” space. “Tunnel-soto” space is an interior space where the light that is cascading down along the tunnel surface from the oblong top light and the light coming down from the courtyard intersect each other three-dimensionally.
When going up the stairs, one can see the entire “tunnel-soto” space. From the gap of the floating steel floor, one can see the reflected image of “tunnel-soto” space on the mirrored surface on the rear side of the tabletop on the second floor. The floating steel floor and the super-thin 6mm thick table give the space a surreal atmosphere of floating and expansion, while creating a sharp contrast with the immense volume of the tunnel.
One of the visitors’ comments was that “tunnel-uchi” space and “tunnel-soto” spaces betray one’s sense of space, as one feels like being outside while actually being inside the house. By experiencing repeated reversals of the interior and the exterior spaces (betrayed feelings), one probably can feel a sense of expansion and openness in this tunnel house.
Location: Suginami-ku, Tokyo Structure: Reinforced Concrete and Steel Principal Use: Residence, Office Site Area: 82.39m2 Total Floor Area: 87.17m2 (43.65m2/1F, 43.52m2/2F) Structural Engineer: Taizen Nieda and Taizo Komatsu
Across 176 full-color pages, author and historian Sophie Richard delivers comprehensive insight on over 50 art museums and galleries throughout Japan, in her first book “The Art Lover’s Guide to Japanese Museums.” Filled with practical knowledge,…
Voici une compilation par Spoon & Tamago des meilleures photographies de fleurs de cerisiers qui ont été faites en 2014, par différents photographes japonais ou qui ont voyagé dans le pays du cerisier. Les photos de ces beaux arbres blancs et roses très inspirants sont à découvrir dans la suite.
Cette maison à Kyoto, au Japon a été conçue par le bureau de conception Alts. En raison de sa faible largeur, la maison apparaît disproportionnée en hauteur. Les architectes ont donc choisi de mettre l’accent sur cette caractéristique en créant des portes et ouvertures à bout pointu.
This metal-clad house in Chiba, Japan, was designed by architect Yuji Kimura to fill its site, meaning a car-parking space and balcony had to be slotted within its boxy volume (+ slideshow).
Yuji Kimura gave House in Chiba a galvanised steel exterior, punctuated by an assortment of square windows. A mesh door slides open to reveal the parking space in one corner, while a secluded balcony is located directly above.
The balcony is enclosed on all sides, but open to the sky. It also has a mesh floor, which allows light to enter both of the house’s two storeys.
“[The house] was planned to be a shape that surrounds the entire site, provided that the balcony and parking lot also serve as lighting,” said Kimura.
Residents enter the house through the garage, which leads through to bedroom and bathroom spaces on the ground floor. According to Kimura, these spaces require the least natural light.
Living, dining and kitchen areas occupy one double-height space on the level above so they can receive the most sunlight. Glass screens slide back to open this space out to the balcony.
The kitchen features a stainless steel counter, while the living space is filled with furniture on wheels that allows the occupants to easily change the layout.
A ladder provides access to a mezzanine loft that, like the rest of the house, features wooden flooring. The architect expects this to be used for storage.
This house has the appearance of a simple box, shaped like a factory, where large and small square holes create a visual rhythm that opens at random. The site is located in a corner lot where the two roads of a quiet residential area of Chiba Prefecture where suburbs cross.
The request from the owner when planning: 1. Bright and Large Living 2. Balcony with Privacy 3. Simple and appearance like a factory
In order to secure privacy, the house takes in light from the road side with no obstacles. It was planned to be a shape that surrounds the entire site, provided that the balcony and parking lot also serves as a lighting.
Since the whole is a simple big box-shaped, by setting the bare dare joints such as bolts and rail, a garage gate and gate is prevented from too much minimal. Moreover, the arrangement of square holes of various sizes, such as are open to random, the opening is making a visual rhythm.
A bedroom being only the sleeping purpose and spending most of time in living and dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom were placed in the first floor, a dining room and a living room were placed in the sunniest place of the second floor. Provided with a large opening in the living room, so that is out on the balcony.
There is also a sliding door with storage space in the kitchen back side, refrigerator, washing machine, household goods are placed in it. The atrium part, by providing a loft that can be up and down the ladder, and in consideration for storage.
Location: Chiba, Japan Design: Yuji Kimura Design Site area: 84.10 sqm Building area: 41.13 sqm Total area: 82.26 sqm Structure: timber
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