How This Japanese Architect Makes Use of a Small Site in Tokyo

The original 50 years old house was planned to let light in from the south. However, a large house was built on that side which prevented any light from entering the house. This was not a comfortable condition to continue living. The Japanese summer is very humid and we constantly felt in the dark houses. The site is a small plot of about 45 square meters located in Nishiyazabu, Tokyo. It is an area that attacks many foreigners but still have many residential areas. It faced north and surrounded on three other side by other houses. We felt that the house need to be bright and full of light. We wanted to have as much floor space as possible. In the previous house, everything had minimal dimensions. But with a growing family, more space was needed. The Japanese loved the bus but it was not something the family could use together. So we wanted to keep as large an area as possible for family areas such as the bus, living room and the rooftop terrace where we play with the children. We did not want to waste as much space as possible. So we decided to stop building corridors and instead connect all the rooms in a spiral shape. By doing so, we were able to move up and down smoothly. The most difficult part was adjusting the height dimensions to achieve this vertical circulation. When you enter the house through the front door and go up the stairs, you first came to the kitchen. Then two steps up is the dining space and another two steps up is the living space. People stand in the kitchen, sit at the dining table and sit on the floor in the living space. So everyone's line of sight is at the same height. Next up the stairs again are the toilet and bathroom. From here onward is the children's room where the two spaces will be used by the sister and brother. From the upper room, there is access to the rooftop. The rooftop is also small but it is two stories high so that you can sit on the stairs and see different views of Tokyo. We wanted to ensure that the exterior is always filled even when inside. The timber used for the window frame is a cost-effective material that is normally used as structure timber in Japan. We are conscious of using real wood as much as possible in places where people's hands come into contact with it. The house has been designed to have a good relationship with their cities. In Japan, parking spaces are generally parked vertically against the side but in this house, the cars are parked horizontally. Just by doing so, the road and the building are a little closer. Usually, a house would be formed by many private rooms but in this house, these are very few doors. This ensures that there is always someone somewhere to be seen. Privacy is ensured by distance. In the old house, there are very few cozy places and the steep staircase made it difficult to move up and down. In the new house, there are so many places to stay anyway that our bodies start moving on their own when we realize we are looking for a light. It might be like moving to another blight-free lit bench in the park when a bench becomes shaded.