Hatsuse Mita Apartments

Hatsuse Mita Apartments

HATSUSE MITA APARTMENTS

IHRMK

ARCHITECTS
Ihrmk

REPRESENTATIVE
Ihara Masaki, Ihara Kayo

STRUCTURE ENGINEER
Asa

CONSTRACTORS
Shin

PERSON IN CHANGE
Ono Kojiro

MANUFACTURERS
Abc Trading, Aica, Nippon Paint, Toli, Dainichi Giken Kogyo, Forbo, Koa Tsusho, Sankyo Tateyama, Takei Kogyo, Toa Cork

PHOTOGRAPHS
Inatsugu Taisuke

AREA
852 M²

LOCATION
Minato City, Japan

YEAR
2019

CATEGORY
Apartments, Residential

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

A big house. An owner-occupied rental apartment building typically has its owner’s penthouse above the rental units.

Hatsuse Mita is also an owner-occupied property with several rental units, but its spatial organization is much different.

The owner's family was forced to move out of their former residence due to the area's redevelopment project and they needed a new home that can adapt to changes in their family structure and society.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

So instead of a residence for the whole family to live together, we proposed a plan in which every unit has a unique floorplan and can be offered as a rental unit or treated as an "individual room" of the family's residence.

In this non-hierarchical plan, the family can move from one unit to another, depending on the type of space they need at the time of transition in the future.

Private and communal spaces are neither closed off nor open to each other but organized as edge pieces of a broken line.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

Hatsuse Mita is a "big house" in the sense that occupants can maintain the same privacy and intimacy level that the family enjoyed in their former home.

"Meguri-doma (a covered stairwell / common corridor)" is designed to hold sunlight and allow the breeze to flow through the inner terraces and living spaces.

The site is situated amongst large-scale residential buildings along a major road and an area of low-rise wooden houses.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

Considering the high contrast of texture and sizes between these two areas, we gauged an intermediate structural scale: a frame built with 310mm square columns placed 1350mm apart.

Set in the center of this simple structure, an open "Meguri-doma" connects all levels.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

"Open terraces, " "Inner terraces, " and "Living spaces" are placed around it in various patterns to mix inside and outside throughout the structure.

We intended to add an airy feel to this layered net-like architecture.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

By doing so, the stairwell becomes a fluid space that has both indoor and outdoor atmospheres.

There is a bench in every landing area, which suggests alternative use of the space as a second living room or a study space.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

The communal terrace is equipped with an outdoor kitchen.

Private and communal spaces are neither closed off nor open to each other but organized as edge pieces of a broken line.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

Hatsuse Mita is a "big house" in the sense that occupants can maintain the same privacy and intimacy level that the family enjoyed in their former home.

Thirteen apartment units in various shapes, along with the shared spaces, form a multi-faceted volume.

Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments

Allowing residents to find a suitable space in the building for what they need at a particular moment.


Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments


Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Hatsuse Mita Apartments


Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Plans
Hatsuse Mita Apartments
Axonometric Sketch