Yuichi Yoshida reorganises Tokyo apartment to create temporary accommodation

Organizing an apartment suited to one's interest with high-technology performance and well designs.

Dabs of plaster pattern the raw concrete surfaces in this Tokyo bedsit partially renovated by local architects Yuichi Yoshida & Associates as a short-term living space (+ slideshow).Yuichi Yoshida & Associates modified the 47.55-square-metre apartment to create temporary living space for a client who plans to resell or rent the flat after a period of five to 10 years.

The architects rearranged the open-plan space to section off a bedroom while maintaining a large living area, in a project named Tsukiji Room H.

The client hopes that the subdivision of the apartment, which allows it to be used as both a residence and work space, will also help to increase the resale value.

The Tokyo-based office made minimal adjustments to make the space suitable for day-to-day living – refurbishing a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom – while maintaining a large open space, with unfinished areas, that can be used for a variety of purposes.A wooden box built in the centre of the living space encloses the property's only bedroom, and creates a narrow alcove for a galley kitchen to one side and an entrance hall to the other.

Wooden doors slide back to reveal a bed on a platform of pigeonhole-style storage drawers. The light timber panels conceal the space during the day.

A ledge above the runners for the sliding door mechanism is used as an additional display and storage area.Behind the bedroom a compact bathroom has white painted walls, a bare concrete floor and white fittings.

The flooring transitions from concrete in the functional rooms of the apartment to a light patterned floor in the living area, made up of squares of timber running in opposing directions.

Plaster boards have been fitted around the walls of the living space, leaving a border of raw concrete between the tops of the panels and the ceiling.

Here, the exposed concrete is pocked with plaster corrections, and metal pipework spans the concrete slab ceiling.A hammock is strung from the ceiling on metal hooks by a set of glazed doors that opens onto a terrace.

At the opposite end of the living space, a stretch of wooden cabinets lines the narrow kitchen, which has stainless steel surfaces and high-level shelving units suspended from the concrete ceiling on tubular metal rods.

One of two entrance points is located beyond a utility space at the end of the kitchen, while the main doorway to the flat is by the bathroom.