Half & Half House
Half & Half House
Naf Architect & Design
YEAR
2014
LOCATION
Setagaya, Japan
CATEGORY
Houses
Text description provided by architect.
This house consists of combining two different types of houses, A and B, evenly. A: House with Flat Roof It is located at a corner lot facing south and west, which is sunny, airy and has good view.
Long horizontal windows and roof balcony facing the corner take advantage of these features of the lot. Transparent glass is used for horizontal long windows, but they are installed at higher level to avoid the sight of passers-by.
Porcelain tile finish exterior wall is curved to emphasize horizontality and gives different impression by the change of sunrays. Interior ceiling is bare finish to gain height. Living and dining room and bedrooms are allocated.
B: House with Gable Roof Small windows with figured glass block the sight of the neighbors who stand close on north and east side, and, at the same time, secure sunshine and ventilation necessary.
Exterior wall is finished by standard steel trowel finish mortar and elastic coating which blend in to the neighborhood.
Interior ceiling incorporates air-conditioning equipment and ventilator. Kitchen, bathroom, toilet and attic storage are allocated.
The lot is located at a sunny corner in residential area. The impression you get from the surrounding differs by where you stand in the lot. Outside corner bordering south and east streets is sunny and open, but it feels slightly uneasy as it is too exposed.
Inside corner, on the other hand, retreats to the space between the neighbors on north and east who stand close, and it feels secure as it is hidden behind nearing houses but at the same time dark and oppressive.
House type A and B are planned to adapt to the surrounding features of outside and inside corners, and they are combined obliquely evenly. When a corner lot is vacant, passers-by would walk into the lot to cut a corner. The trail of cutting the corner of the lot seems appropriate to set the merging line of two different houses.
