Tokyo is home to “House A”, a small detached house that is another example of the ingenuity of Japanese architects in dealing with difficult plots of land. However, it was designed by a European, the Dutch architect Wiel Arets.
The property is located in Nishi-Azabu, a district characterized by narrow, winding streets and low buildings. It is very small and narrow, as is so often the case in the Japanese metropolis. The clients’ desire for a parking space for their Smart car further reduced the already small footprint. The problem was solved by folding the building volume: while the first floor is set back, the two floors above cantilever over the resulting parking area.
The functions are spread over five floors, two underground and three above ground. The building has a total of 136 square meters. The first floor, like the floors above, consists of one large room – the kitchen and dining room are located there. The living room is located on the second floor, followed by a bedroom at the top, which adjoins a polygonal roof terrace.
The architect found a less convincing solution for the two children’s rooms: they are located on the first basement floor. The access and bathrooms are separated as independent room segments, but are directly adjacent to the main room. The circulation area is thus minimized to the bare minimum – there is only a corridor in the children’s rooms.
The building was constructed as an earthquake-proof concrete structure, with exposed concrete characterizing the interior spaces. The exterior is clad with glass panels. The soft shimmer takes away the hardness of the sculptural body and, despite its expressive form, it is reserved in relation to its neighbors.
The windows consist of two sliding elements: a transparent glass element as a thermal barrier and a translucent privacy screen, for which the architect used the same glass panels as for the façade. The different opening variants allow different views in and out, the rooms interweave more or less with their surroundings.
It is probably the Dutch architect’s most Japanese moment: He transforms the classic dissolution of nature and built space into an urban scenario, creating a spatial kaleidoscope that enriches the urban space.