Rectangular panels of Japanese cedar and glass create a chequered effect on the facade of this Tokyo residence .
Named Checkered Residence, the developing was created by Japanese architect Takeshi Shikauchi. The decorative facade was extra to ensure ample daylight permeates all parts of the interior, but that residents are nonetheless offered some privacy.
“The chequered window permits [the developing] to get in light from normal height, near the ceiling and near the floor and also to take in stable light from the north side during the day time,” explained Shikauchi.
A three-sided canopy extends out from the front to give shelter for the entrances and a parking room.
Connected story: Curving walls eclipse glazed facade of park-side house in Japan by Tsuyoshi Kawata
The overhang varies in width from 1.35 metres at its narrowest stage to 2.85 metres at its deepest. Shikauchi desired to reference the overhanging eaves of standard Japanese houses, as properly as shield the timber wall from injury.
“It is getting far more and more tough to use wood for housing in the city,” explained the architect.
“I considered about designing a wooden property in the city that considers disaster prevention and upkeep, searching at the constructive factors of wood this kind of as the soft texture which Japanese conventional houses utilized to have.”
In contrast to the permeable facade, the sides of the building are covered in sheets of dark corrugated metal.
The property is located in Kita Ward, an area in the north of Tokyo. Within, it is divided into two residences to produce separate spaces for the client’s family members and his father.
A small ground-floor studio comprises a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen – adequate for a single resident – even though the residence occupied by the consumer and his wife requires up portion of the ground floor and the complete upper level.
This includes an open-plan living dining and kitchen space, a bedroom and a reception space.
Although the properties have separate entrances that permit the two generations to reside independently, the kitchen of the studio adjoins with the entrance to the second apartment.
Wooden box shelves are constructed into the opaque sections of the two-storey facade, offering storage and show spaces for all residents.
Other spaces are just furnished with wooden tables and chairs, whilst the kitchen features white fittings and a stainless steel countertop.
Photography is by Koichi Torimura.
Undertaking credits:
Designer: Takeshi Shikauchi / Takeshi Shikauchi Architect Office
Framework style: Ohno Japan
Collaborative design: Yuko Suzuki Architecture Workplace
Development: Shinei
Notion diagram 
Ground floor strategy 
1st floor strategy 
Section Dezeen
