The ground floor of this Osaka house by Japanese architect Masatoshi Hatamoto is sunken below street level to generate a lot more privacy for its residents .
Hatamoto and his studio Flame Planning Office created the household home for a neighbourhood characterised by its mixture of new and outdated homes. Since of the natural slope of the land, a lot of of these present buildings sit decrease than the street, so the architect followed suit.
Named Home of Yabugaoka, the new two-storey residence has approximately a third of its volume set under street level – a move that also produces a secluded backyard at the building’s entrance.
“I looked for the way to defend privacy against a dilemma in these web sites – the look of the person who walks along a street,” explained the architect.
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“I contemplate the space here to have a feeling of liberation. By utilising the big difference in the height of the southern road and the web site, a space where the family can gather is manufactured.”
The building has a straightforward timber frame. Most of its exterior is finished with a dark brown-toned render, but it also has a facade of wooden louvres, helping to further maintain the residents’ privacy.
These are arranged vertically, flanking a balcony and a wall of glazing to one side of the initial-floor hallway.
“The deck enclosed by the wooden louvres is right here to divide outdoors and the interior,” said Hatamoto. “This will be a buffering region for the eyes.”
The front door is glazed to make it appear far more welcoming. “It gives a light sense to the constructing from outside,” mentioned the architect.
Within, the building has an area of 115 square metres. The primary family residing room is positioned on the sunken ground-floor level, with the dining space and lounge at the front, and the kitchen at the back.
A range of materials and surfaces help to define the different locations. The kitchen characteristics concrete and tiled surfaces, with grey as the predominant colour. The lounge and dining region the two have wooden flooring and white walls, but are differentiated by varying types of window.
A double-height space on one side of the room accommodates the staircase – a series of flat wooden treads slotted into a zigzagging metal frame.
Upstairs, there are three bedrooms and an extra guest room. 1 of these is the master suite, but the others can be effortlessly repurposed when a examine or playroom is required.
Photography is by Yohei Sasakura/Sasa no Kurasha.
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