Keiji Ashizawa Design Co., Ltd

Sky Garden House in Japan

Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano

SKY GARDEN HOUSE

Keiji Ashizawa Design / Keiji Ashizawa, Mriko Irie

ARCHITECTS
Keiji Ashizawa Design / Keiji Ashizawa, Mriko Irie

LOCATION
Tokyo, Japan

CATEGORY
Houses

YEAR
2010

PHOTOGRAPHS
Daici Ano

Text description provided by architect.

Sky Garden House is a two-family residence in central Tokyo. The main goal in design was to create an environment where two families can interact freely and frequently, while giving each family a high level of privacy from each other as well as from outside. The peculiar nature of the location and limitations imposed by the building codes (in particular, the building-to-land ratio) presented considerable challenges in meeting this goal.

Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano

The house, where Clients and their two children occupy the first two floors and their parents live on the third floor, is built on a steep incline, with about 5 meters in height difference between the low and high points of the land, rendering part of the first floor effectively underground.

The building-to-land ratio required that maximum use of the available space be made to secure open, comfortable living space for two families. We and Clients sought to address these challenges through a series of extended discussions, in a process not unlike trying to piece together a complex puzzle.

In the end, we decided on three design features in meeting these challenges. First, we designed a lightwell and had each room face it. This had two benefits.

Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano

One was that this would ensure that each room on the first three floors would receive good amount of sunlight. The other was that it would create an open and spacious feel to the house while allowing for privacy from outside environs.


Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano
Sky Garden House in Japan
© Daici Ano


Sky Garden House in Japan
Section


Sky Garden House in Japan
Floor Plan
Sky Garden House in Japan
Floor Plan
Sky Garden House in Japan
Floor Plan
Sky Garden House in Japan
Floor Plan
Sky Garden House in Japan
Floor Plan

Keiji Ashizawa Design Co., Ltd
T +81 35 6895597 F +81 35 6895598
Keiji Ashizawa Design Co., Ltd
2-17-15 1F Koishikawa Bunkyo-Ku Tokyo 112-0002, Japan