#RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS
House House
Tokyo-based Sakaushi Taku Architects’ Office ＋ O.F.D.A. associates designed this house for a family of five on a small urban lot.
The first surprise on viewing the home is that, despite the micro-sized lot, the architects managed to give each member of the family his or her own room. One of the techniques for doing so was the functional use of the loft space within the design. The bedrooms sit along the skylight-topped stairwell like hiding places or pockets within a single interior space. Weighty, thick reinforced concrete structures typically give a dark impression, but here the void brings a feeling of airy brightness. The numerous doors and rhythmical banister seems to invite the visitor to climb up and open a door. We asked architect Taku Sakaushi about the project.
Please give us an overview of the project.
In front of the lot is a sloped park, and behind it is a river. On the local hazard map, it’s zoned for flood risk. The client requested that we make the home flood-resistant but also make the most of the park out front. The family consists of a nuclear unit of four plus an elderly grandfather. The challenge was fitting rooms for each four family members plus a complete downstairs living space for the grandfather - which the clients had requested - into a space measuring just 115 square meters. Our eventual solution was to open up a void above the living room and place the bedrooms and lofts around it. The black of the living room contrasts with the white of the void’s ceiling, whose shape echoes the slope of the roof. The effect is a sort of floating house within the house, and that’s where the name of the project (House House) comes from.
What was most important for you during the design process?
I think of interior architecture as a frame through which the presence of the building’s users oozes, and exterior architecture as a frame that cuts the environment. In other words, the base concept for me is "architecture as a frame." As I described in my answer to the previous question, four rooms and a loft open onto the void, each of which has one or more doors and windows. The presence of each room’s occupant is meant to seep through these openings into the white void. Meanwhile, the large bay windows serve as a mechanism for framing the surrounding environment, in particular the park.
What did you learn from this project? What will you take from it to future projects?
A young architect said the following to me after visiting the completed building. “This house incorporates opposing concepts like profundity and weightlessness, severity and breakdown.” It struck me as quite accurate. I try not to be contained by a single approach to architecture. In that sense, this visitor had sensed the coexistence of ambivalent concepts within the work. In future designs I’d like to try consciously incorporating those kinds of coexisting concepts.
What challenges did you face in the project? How did you respond to them?
Finding enough space for various rooms was difficult in terms of building regulations. Our solution was to add loft space, which is not counted in floor space quotas if the ceiling is lower than 1.4 m. By doing so we were able to ensure adequate room size as well as create rhythm within the space.
What is the societal role of the architect?
To rethink and restructure the physical environment that enwraps socially-conditioned humans based on contemporary sensibilities.
How does this project fit into current architectural trends such as sustainability, social function, or technology?
This project uses external insulation, and the concept for the smooth, silver, barnacle-like bay windows emerged from our discussions of this insulation.
