Soeda and Associates

The site is located along a major road cut through hilly terrain built at the time when Yokohama Port was opened. The apartment building contains twenty apartment units and a small office. A cliff rising in the back of the site is reinforced by the 6-meter high old concrete retaining wall, and the lush greenery of the sacred shrine forest built in 1868 spread above it.

Judging from our observation of the surrounding buildings, the space between the buildings and the cliff behind them appeared to be nothing more than a narrow and dark leftover space. But we thought that we could probably incorporate the retaining wall and the sacred shrine forest in this project in the most attractive way. After thoroughly studying apartment unit layouts, we came up with a plan composed of an apartment unit cluster along the wide frontal road, an apartment cluster placed between the cliff and the apartment cluster along the road, and a communal area between the two apartment clusters.

The vacant patch of land surrounded by the old concrete retaining wall and the new concrete exterior wall is a garden with a hexagonal concrete table and stools, designed with the hope that the residents' life will extend out of the apartments and into the communal space and beyond.

The communal hallway, located between the two apartment clusters, is open on the cliff side, offering views of the garden and the sacred shrine forest over the retaining wall. Our idea was to provide a comfortable space incorporating the surrounding environment where residents can enjoy the brief moment of waiting for the elevator or passing by.

All apartment units offer different unobstructed views outside the main windows in the living room and bedrooms. We successfully created a calm and quiet living environment where one can enjoy serene views in close proximity to Yokohama's busiest commercial districts.