When talking about residential architecture in Tokyo it’s hard not to mention the common urban obstacles: extremely dense communities, limited privacy and oddly-shaped plots of land. Throw in a line of train tracks and you’ve got yourself a recipe for an architectural nightmare. But architect Kunihiko Nakama was up for the challenge.
The Kiyono eatery has been serving traditional Japanese food and drink to locals of Kodaira, Tokyo for almost 40 years. But when they decided to renovate, their location proved problematic. The acute triangular plot of land jutted outward to form a most irregular shape. Running northward parallel to the home are train tracks that not only create constant noise but rumblings as well.
Architect Kunihiko Nakama was tasked with constructing a 3-story building that functioned as a shop for the eatery but also 2 residences for the family. His bold proposal was to create a structure that fully maximizes the plot of land while also forming walls thick enough to stave off the noise from the trains. The pure white building, which resembles a slice of tofu, acts as a quasi-advertisement for the eatery.
to create a visual contrast between eatery and residence, the architect opted for a more rough, organic facade on the ground level
the wooden paneling on the ground level eatery draws guests towards the back.
