Tato Architects / Yo Shimada

House in Kurekawatyou

Location / Hyogo Japan
House+cafe /
Family Structure / couple + one children

Design

Design
Tato Architects/Yo Shimad
Team / Yo Shimada Keita Kurokoshi
Structure
Takashi Manda Structural Design
Team / Takashi Manda Taijiro Kato

Construction

Kimura Koumuten

Structure

Main Structure, Timber

Scale

Tow-storey House
Site Area 67.33㎡
Building Area 33.52㎡ (49.78% of max 60% of coverage ratio permission)
Total Floor Area 96.93㎡ (143.96% of max 200% of floor area ratio permission)
First floor 33.52 ㎡
Second floor 33.52 ㎡
Third floor 29.89 ㎡

The most common approach when designing a house on a small plot of land is to make the interior a single room as large as possible, with a stairway in the center and various functions placed to the left and right of the stairway. To be sure, this seems to employ the space with maximum effectiveness, but it is questionable whether the residents really lead a fulfilling home life when they are always looking at the stairs and cannot get a sweeping view of the entire interior. In House in Kurekawa I intentionally divided the space up so that from any given vantage point some elements are visible and others not, and other rooms can be glimpsed through square apertures. This was intended to create the illusion of a larger space. The house interior is subdivided into small rooms on split levels, arranged in a spiral, and on each floor there is only a limited view. It seems like the spiral could continue infinitely, and the house is full of small premonitions of things to come. I consider this to be one valid prototype for an urban dwelling.