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HOUSE KITASHINAGAWA

SITE Shinagawa, Tokyo
USAGE Private residence
DESIGN Yoshida Akihiro/STUDIO AK
CONSTRUCTOR Tokyo Gumi
COMPLETION September 2022

This is a residence for a four-person family.
The site is triangular, and because it is located in a fire prevention district, the residence must be a fire-resistant structure despite being built of wood, which made this project quite difficult.
The site is about 10 tsubo (approx. 33m2), but the building needed to be a 3LDK structure because the family members desired separate bedrooms, and they also needed space to park a small car, creating design conditions that further increased the difficulty.
Because of the flat area limitations, we created a vertically oriented space and used loft beds in each bedroom to overlap the storage and the sleeping space.
The limited space precluded us from creating a hallway, so we made the stairway the center of the house and gave it an open design for an innovation that minimizes the volume taken up for connecting spaces while offering a sense of relaxation.

The major road at the front is very wide, so we created a large opening on the third floor and planned a living room flooded with light that offers a sense of breadth.
The clients also requested a rooftop space, so we also made a rooftop balcony with a pleasant view.
By using architectural resolutions for the restrictions in a narrow, oddly shaped site in Tokyo, we were able to draw out the maximum potential of the site and achieve a residence that fulfilled the clients’ desires.