House in Kohoku, Tokyo, Japan by Torafu

Located in a quiet residential region reclaimed on a hill of Yokohama, this flag-shaped site meets a road at a verge of no more than 3 meters in width. The roof which looks as if barnacled lets in light through the glass on the top of the tube-shaped windows that are set avoiding shades and eye gaze of the neighbors.

Since the site is tilted to the north, and the neighboring house to the south is two-storied and built on a higher ground, at first it seemed almost impossible to let in light from the south, although the client, a married couple who has lived in this place for a long time, wanted a small but sunshiny house of one-story just as their child became independent from them.

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Although the main living area is no larger than approximately 7.5 x 7.5 meters, we tried to give appropriate distance among the scenes of food, clothing and housing by moderately separating every space along the arris of the ceiling and by making the most of the height of the ceiling itself. High arris connect neighboring spaces, and low arris separate them into, for instance, a living room and a bedroom. Infixed at the space where the ceiling is highest is a wooden mass.

Architects: Torafu
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Building Site: Yokohama Kanagawa
Site Area: 230 sqm
Constructed Area: 67.35 sqm
Photographer: Daici Ano