Renovation in Nekogahora

Aichi, Japan

Photo © Toshiyuki Yano

Architects: Airhouse / Keiichi Kiriyama

Location: Aichi, Japan
Year: 2014

Renovation of Neko-dori," a 40-year-old townhouse in Neko-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, was planned to combine two townhouses built next to each other into a single house and store. (The store part is called MachiMachi.) As people gather every week, they wanted to have a large dining room and kitchen, so the dining room and kitchen are located in the area just inside the entrance. The private living space was placed on the second floor, but instead of completely separating the upper and lower floors, the ceiling was opened to create a loft-like structure that resembles one large room. The partition walls that reached the ceiling were basically removed, and light was taken in from both east and west sides to create a bright interior space despite the Japanese style of the house. By returning the structure to its skeletal state, the spatial expanse was secured to the maximum extent, and at the same time, structural calculations were made to reinforce the structure to increase its strength, which was then sublimated into the design. In an age when the stock of such old buildings is expected to increase, we believe that this is an example of how we have created a rich space by making use of, reducing, and reinforcing them. The store portion is designed by MachiMachi