GURURI

Tokyo, Japan

Photo © Makoto Yoshida, Shinkenchiku-sha

Apartment Buildings

Architects: Hiroyuki Ito Architects

Location: 世田谷, Tokyo, Japan
Year: 2016

This is a project for a terraced house with 9 dwelling units built on a site located some distance away from the front road. The surroundings are in a peaceful residential area, which shares the breadth of the sky with gardens and openings between buildings.
　In order to keep the influence from the surroundings to a minimum and maintain a sustainable relationship, we decided to place the building in the center of the site and secure open spaces around it. The vacant land surrounding the building acts as the necessary pathway to each dwelling required by law for terraced houses. Furthermore, for example on the 1st floor, it also keeps the walkways at a distance from the building, creates an intermediary region under the eaves, lowers the internal floor level shifting the line of sight, creates a surrounding distance to the counter, and adjusts the relationship between inside and outside, all contributing to the appeal of the interior.
　In the same way, things that surround the entire building such as the passage, the eaves, the counter, and the outer wall, appear in every room, and the residents make use use these large items at both the front and back of the building.