House with Winodwsills

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Architects
Tatsuya Nagasaki / Atelier Haretoke
Location
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Year
2011

A convenient home with varied floor levels

This home for an elderly couple sits on a riverside road lined with cherry blossom trees. By taking advantage of the irregular shape of the flag lot, we were able to create two outdoor spaces: an approach facing the cherry blossom trees and a private garden tucked away from the road.

In addition to facilitating a comfortable, modern lifestyle, we had three design goals. First, to incorporate traditional Japanese architectural elements including a toriniwa, or passageway running from the front to back of the house; an engawa, or narrow covered veranda, and sudare, or reed blinds hung outside. Second, to ensure the house became more comfortable and beautiful to live in as time passed. And third, to link interior living spaces with outdoor areas such as the cherry-tree-lined road and the private garden.

The engawa runs next to the windows, and throughout the house where the floor level rises or falls there are many other places to sit down. People often dislike houses with many such elevation changes, but by incorporating them creatively into the house, we succeeded in creating a comfortable, convenient living environment ideal for the aging couple. In addition, the home is well insulated and was constructed in collaboration with highly skilled local carpenters using quality Japanese wood. It is an ideal home both in terms of livability and environmental sustainability.

Related Projects

  • Shanghai Suhe MixC World
    KOKAISTUDIOS
  • Welcome to the Stage!
    Kjellander Sjöberg
  • Hovering Kan-Too – Great Bay Area Center Showroom
    Wutopia Lab
  • Stockwell-Rodríguez Residence
    Belmont Freeman Architects
  • Haunsbergstraße | 1. Preis
    Architektinnen Schremmer.Jell ZT GmbH

Magazine

Other Projects by 長崎辰哉/アトリエハレトケ

House with the Floating Terraces
Musashino, Tokyo, Japan
Under a White Roof
Yuki, Ibaraki, Japan
Seaside Boomerang
Isumi, Chiba, Japan
Under the Four Roofs
Kyoto-City, Kyoto, Japan
House with a Large Roof
Yuki, Ibaraki, Japan