Category — Architecture

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Shintaro Fujiwara and Yoshio Muro of FujiwaraMura Architects recently completed House of Slope. If I lived here I would undoubtedly buy a chair with wheels and roll out the door every morning.

The residential home is located in Osaka and was constructed on what is known as a flagpole site* (旗竿敷地).

The home sits, like many homes in Japan, in a highly dense residential neighborhood. Working under these circumstances, the architects conceived the slope as having 2 purposes. First, it would create an ambiguous, undefined space that would be used not only as a means of transportation, but also as a gallery space, a child’s play area, or simply a place to sit down.

Second, by wrapping the slope around the sides of the house, the resident will visually and consciously obtain a sprawling sense of space as they move from one room to the other.

*Flagpole site: a piece of land that is shaped like a flagpole (a), characterized by a narrow path leading to the main site, which is set back from the street. The flagpole site is a real-estate phenomenon that, is indigenous to Japan. It really began to spread after the end of WWII and can be attributed to homeowner psychology at the time. To own a home was to contribute to the rebuilding of Japan as a nation. It was considered one of the most patriotic things you could do.

Additionally, if you were going to own a home, the ideal shape was that of a samurai residence (武家屋敷), which happens to be defined by a perfectly square-shaped home that sits perfectly in the center of a larger square-shaped yard. However, in dense cities where land comes at a premium, the yard was forfeited. The only prerequisite for building a home was that it be square-shaped (size was a non-issue) as the perception that square = value quickly become embedded in the mindset.

To this day the product lineup of most homebuilding companies in Japan are based on the old samurai residence. This has resulted in neighborhoods being hashed up into small square-shaped land sites with a foot or so of dead space between neighboring houses. This is also the reason why trees are scarce in residential neighborhoods in Japan – squares don’t accommodate any sort of yard. [source]

One of my favorite architects, Junya Ishigami (his website is only a contact form…I know: frustrating), is having an exhibition at the Shiseido Gallery.

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The highly anticipated show (at least for me) just opened yesterday. I combed the interweb yesterday for images and turned up with nothing. I tried again today and bingo! ARTiT has hooked us up with a first look.

If you are not familiar with Junya Ishigami, check out my feature on Japanese contemporary architects I did back in 2008 where I talked about his work “Kait Kobo.” Also, if you are in Tokyo I would highly recommend the show. Ishigami is not a very public figure and it’s a rare opportunity to check out his work.

Junya Ishigami, along with designers such as Nosigner, is part of a school of young designers who got their start studying under acclaimed architect Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA.

I typically don’t post artist renderings because they always look better than the end design, don’t they? I always feel like I was cheated. But I couldn’t help myself!

This reno of an apartment, which, I assume, is located near Ekoda Station in Tokyo, has me in a serious case of real estate envy. What a fun space that would be to live in. It was designed by Makoto Tanijiri of Suppose Design Office and, according to his tweet, is nearing completion.

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Another private residence in Hyogo, Japan is the recently completed Okurayama House by Kiyonobu Nakagame Architects.

This home was also built on an irregular hilly site but the similarities end there. In this instance the overall design was informed by the surrounding neighborhood, which included cherry-lined streets to the North and South, as well as low-rise housing in both directions.

Supported by 2 steel columns, the structure is defined by a carved out entryway that acts as almost an extension of the road passing in front. The entryway gently guides you inside, where you are greeted by a bowl-shaped hall that radiates outwards into its surround spaces.

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Sekiya Masato of Planet Creations’ latest work is Lifted House IV, a private residence in Hyogo Japan.

The uniqueness of the original site, which was sloped like a horse’s back and surrounded by hills, became the guiding force for the completed design.  Emphasis was placed on relationship-building; namely, the dynamic relationship between the land, which appears to close in on you as you approach the site, and the structure itself.

On the ground level is a private study, a guest room and a cloakroom. On the 1st floor is the bedroom, living/dining room, kitchen and bathroom.

I really like how the garage, which connects to the home via outdoor walkway, adds to the presence of the structure. It’s almost a bit intimidating.

Related:

• Asukadai House by Planet Creations

Y+M design office, an architectural firm headquartered in Kobe, recently completed Demado House in Kanagawa, Japan. Demado (meaning bay window) House understandably gets its name from its characteristically protruding windows.

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The structure reminds me a bit of those stress balls that you squeeze in your hand. As you apply pressure, the ball oozes out of the cracks between your fingers creating somewhat random protrusions. The result is certainly entertaining to look at and would be even more entertaining to live in.

You can read my previous post on y+M design office in which I featured Kaidan no ie (Stairs House) back in October 2009. This year Stairs House has been winning all sorts of design and architecture awards left and right.

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It’s been over a year since Kotaro Ide and his architectural firm ARTechnic wowed the community with their 2008 work Shell.  The holiday villa in Karuizawa, Japan, characterized by two concrete tubes with oval sections, understandably went on to win several design awards.

We hadn’t seen any new work from the group until now. M&M Rosie, while not quite as unique and defined as their previous work, is nonetheless stunning in its geometric form. It stands as a private residence in Setagaya, Tokyo.

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If you happen to have your hands on the August 2010 issue of Wallpaper, there is a special present inside for you – a totally modernist paper cut-out house by one of our favorite architects, Ryuji Nakamura. Need. Want. Must have.

Related:

• Ryuji Nakamura’s Hechima Chair & Insect Cage
• Blossom by Ryuji Nakamura
• Ryuji Nakamura

Case-Real Architects, headed by Koichi Futatsumata, unveiled a new bar they designed in Fukuoka. Dreieck Park, which is Triangular Park in German, gets its name from its strategic location on the top floor of a building, overlooking a lone park situated in the middle of a busy shopping district. The bar is characterized by an incredibly sexy table that swells out into the center of the bar.

The pendant lights were designed to sit above a specified horizon so as to not obstruct views of the central window. The armchairs were also specifically designed for long drinks (and maybe even some pour-your-heart-out-moments with the bartender. The cool thing about the table is, depending on where you sit, you can either feel very intimate or very distanced from the bartender.)

Related:

• Hammock by Koichi Futatsumata

Toshimitsu Kuno of tele-design and Tomoro Aida of Aida Atelier have recently completed Periscope House in a dense residential neighborhood of Zushi, Kanagawa.

In order to maximize living conditions while keeping in mind site-specific constraints, the architects proposed a plan in which 3 rooms would poke their heads out above the level of homes like a periscope on a submarine. Very cute idea! I always wanted to live in a submarine.

Photography: Tatsuya Noaki

Via Jutaku Tokushu (7/2010 issue)