Skygarden House

This house located on a corner site with a steep incline, a peculiar land characteristic for central Tokyo, is a two-family residence. Comprising of three floors - the first two for a young family with two children, and the third for their grandparents - each family required a high level of privacy from the other as well as the outside, without compromising the ability to interact freely and frequently with one another. The building form maximizes floor area by reaching out to the boundary. While small penetrations in the external glass-reinforced concrete walls provide glimpses of the surroundings, the rooms of the house are arranged around a large internal light shaft. The light filled center creates an inherent sensory relationship between the families’ dwellings, as well as a discrete visual connection. Project Team: Keiji Ashizawa, Mariko Irie Photography: Daici Ano