House in Zenpukuji

HOUSE IN ZENPUKUJI

Aoyagi design

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota

ARCHITECTS
Aoyagi Design

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Aoyagi Design

MANUFACTURERS
Autodesk, Agc Glass, Ioc Flooring, Sankyo Aluminum, Yamada Shomei Lighting, Luci

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Konishi Structural Engineers, Yasutaka Konishi, Takuya Asamitsu, Kengo Marumoto

DESIGN TEAM
Hajime Aoyagi, Ayaka Aoyagi

PHOTOGRAPHS
Takumi Ota

AREA
93 m²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Japan

CATEGORY
Houses

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota

The site is a small lot of about 50 square meters located in a residential district on the outskirts of Tokyo.

While the view is blocked on three sides, the ground level is 2 meters higher than the road facing the eastern side.

This gives it a unique floating feel and open views toward the schoolyard on the opposite side of the road. The house is for a couple, who are also the architects of the project, and their children.

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota

Despite severe restrictions, such as setback-line regulation and having less than 25 square meters of allowable building area, we arrived at a tower-shaped design consisting of two underground and two above-ground floors.

Light, air, and the presence of the residents will travel between the floors through a circulating staircase and a small void positioned on the corner of the rooms, which culminate in a gentle "flow".

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota

On the cross-section, the entrance is on the middle layer. Upon entering this crack-like entrance, we are suddenly thrust into the "flow" and suspended in mid-air.

The flow has no clear beginning because, in our design method, we decided not to give the house a robust framework.

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota

Instead, we treated the different parameters—the arrangement of functions, relationship with the surrounding environment, and discrepancies caused by the long designing process—as elements that coexist inside the flow, which we assumed is like "basso continuo," In other words, we did not have a clear overall perspective.

This process caused various disparities, creating inconsistencies between the openings and floor levels, and a relative scale difference imbalance between the rooms and residential equipment, which stay barely suspended in the flow.

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota

This stare of suspension also gives our family redundancy to embrace not only the past and present but also the future with equal neutrality.

House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota


House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota


House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota
House in Zenpukuji
© Takumi Ota


House in Zenpukuji
Plans
House in Zenpukuji
Detail Sections
House in Zenpukuji
Thermal Simulation Diagrams