House in Aobadai by Satoshi Okada Architects
Location : Aobadai, Tokyo, Japan
Architect : Satoshi Okada
Type : Residence
Size : 238.46 sqm.
Structure : RC
Completion : 2004
Project team : Daikichi Honma
Structural designer : Kenta Masaki
General contractor : Fukazawa Construction Co.
Photo credit: Satoshi Okada architects
The house is located in the Daikanyama Hill, next to Shibuya district, one of the most fashionable areas in Tokyo, today. On the sloping terrain from north to south, the site figures a trapezoid shape of approx. 9.2m in width by 25.2m in depth upon a narrow front road to the west. The east end boundary is only tilted by 4.19 degree from the right angle.
The client is a young executive person, a car maniac, purchased an expensive lot for his own dwelling as well as for holding a private party with business partners or friends just behind the hot spot. His primary request is to make a garage in order to store 4 cars in the house made of a rigid and safe reinforced concrete structure against fires or earthquakes. This condition demands, proportionally, a large area only for cars in the limited property; at last, it occupies a half of the whole site. Also, in terms of architectural laws to the cosmopolitan area, tall buildings cannot be realized for maintaining a well-preserved housing environment particularly on the right of light. On the north boundary, a setback regulation in architectural laws restricts the building height less than 5.6meters.
Composition
The house is basically composed of two structural elements. One is reinforced concrete walls and slabs; the other is an iron structured flat roof. In the plan, I set up a tilted wall which is perpendicular to the east end boundary of the site. It divides the house into two portions; the smaller part on north is exposed to the sky by a series of glass roof, the larger one is under a single opaque roof. The transparent / translucent roof, made of anti-heat and anti-ultra-violet ray glass, on the north is effective for introducing sunlight into the hall on the ground floor level as well as providing a spatial openness to the interior.
Because the big garage is required to place on the ground floor to the front street, and because the rest half of the site area is not enough large for a public realm, the ground floor is automatically decided to plan a master bedroom, a bathroom, storages, an entrance, an anteroom to the garage. While on the first floor, living, dining, kitchen, a public restroom, and two terraces are planned not only for family’s private living, but for a public use of inviting guests.
On the first floor, schematically, living section is sandwiched by two terraces. The broad terrace above garage functions as a place for party and a place for outdoor bathing. Along the wall on north, it has shallow and slow water stream, in which the bottom of the green part is made of glass, filtering the sunlight into the garage down below and casting wavering water shadows on its wall in the dark. The rear terrace is for a service, more intimate and calm rather than the active front terrace.
House in Aobadai.
A row of bathroom and laundry is on the ground floor along the south end wall. The bathroom faces to a tiny garden which functions as a light well and ventilator, which also connects the master bedroom. Landry directly links to the garage, which is convenient for sweaty works of the vehicle enthusiast.
Materials
On the ground floor, concrete surface is remained for a finishing except white marble on the floor, which is continuous from the outside walkway to entrance inside. While on the first floor, a hard water-resistant wood is used for both places inside and terraces outside. Sash is made of steel painted in black, and all glass is air tighten paired glasses. On small windows, their frames are industrially made of aluminum. Glass roof along the north end wall has a quality of anti-heat and anti-ultra-violet ray. A flat opaque roof above the living is proofed by rubber-asphalt sheet on steel structure.
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