Portal for Japanese minimalist architecture

Prerequisite

The lot is located in a residential area and is surrounded by neighboring housings, with a mother’s house on its west.
Requests for the house include: encourages the family to spend time together (rather than isolating anyone) / spatial / bright with plenty of natural light.

Plot

The family space is arranged at the center of the site.
The private space is arranged at the edge of the site, and they connect gradually by the one volume.
Distance among rooms and curved spaces provide adequate privacy.
Each rooms are indistinctly connected to each other via central space.

diagram

Indistinct

That indistinct connection is the key concept of this house, expressing the spatial relationship (not on/off relationship) among the rooms.
Like a photo out of focus.

view from the Japanese room

Invisible one room

You can grasp the space visually if the entire space is visible.
You can let your consciousness develop the space if not all is visible.
Like walking in a path, not sure of what is ahead.

bathroom on the first floor

Ambiguously

Spaces divided by straight lines relate to rationally.
Spaces connected with curving lines relate to ambiguously.
Like a drop of milk in coffee.

Connection

What interests us is how rooms connect to each other, more than how a room is made.
What interests us is the “air” that curves, crosses, and diffracts.
Like a cloud, constantly moving without having definite shape.

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site plan

first floor plan

second floor plan

roof plan

a-a section

b-b section

architects: Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates
location: Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
function: single family house
structural engineering: Masaki Structural Laboratory
construction: Inoue Construction Ltd
site area: 191.71 m²
built area: 84.18 m²
total floor area: 101.94 m²
structural system: wooden construction (2F)
exterior material: metal finish
interior material: paint finish
design period: June 2010 – February 2011
completion period: September 2011
photographs: Toshiyuki Yano / Nacasa & Partners Inc. _ courtesy of Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates

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