O Residence | Shinichi Ogawa & Associates

In spite of standing in a central dense urban area of Tokyo, this house is privileged to have a very nice landscape to enjoy.
Like 3 box-culverts sitting on top of each other, the building of 12mx9mx9m displays a very pure expression. The volume is closed all around, except in the one façade that overlooks a green scenery, which is totally open to the exterior.
In the first floor there is a garage space, the second is taken by the LDK, while the third floor accomodates the private spaces: the master and child bedrooms, and one deep bathroom, with the bathtub being right next to the window and the outside nature. All these spaces are related through a long corridor that also works as a walk-in- closet.
The LDK was designed in order to be one big white minimal space, with only one counter of 9m long, that is topped by one continuous lamp light on the ceiling.
The big windows of 12m wide become a very important element of the project, as they bring the different seasonal environments into the interior living of the house, transforming the rational design into a space full of expression. All the different floors are connected through two stairways that face each other on a very narrow but high ceiling space of the building, which is enlightened from the top, through a subtle and thin slit.
The extreme minimal composition of this house responds in the most silent way to its compact and intricate urban setting, and seeks for a maximum enjoyment of its main asset: the beautiful exterior landscape.