A pair of massive terraces channel through one side of this white house in Tokyo by Takuro Yamamoto Architects, supplying residents with an outdoor yoga space and a sheltered parking area (+ slideshow).
1 side of Tiny Property Massive Terrace abuts a residential block, although the other borders a carpark.
To ensure privacy on the ignored plot, Tokyo-based Takuro Yamamoto Architects made all street-facing walls windowless. Instead, all glazing faces the two openings that cut via the volume of the 3-storey creating.
Covered in red cedar boards, the upper deck adjoins the living room to offer a space for the couple to practice yoga. The ground floor patio has a concrete surface and is largely utilised as a vehicle parking area.
“Via the approach of developing this property, we tried to demonstrate that obtaining wealthy private external area was critical for generating crucial difference in the quality of life inside the residence, as nicely as acquiring different possibilities of external exercise,” stated the architects.
The massive rectangular openings developed by the terraces are accentuated by their obvious lack of balustrades. Slender wires are pulled taut across the openings at either side of the window so as to maximise the amount of available daylight.
Connected story: White Cave Property by Takuro Yamamoto Architects
Windows are arranged in the terrace-dealing with wall of the two upper floors, delivering access immediately from the initial-floor living area and allowing ventilation for the 2nd floor.
“Big windows – which are needed for creating internal spaces spacious, effectively lit and airy – are 1 of the most costly components of buildings, so we concentrated them to selected places, powerful for improving the quality of inner spaces,” explained the architects.
“Thinking about that the client couple’s original request was having a big terrace for undertaking yoga freely beneath the sun, connecting the terrace to the residing area and the bedroom with massive windows was the ideal way to provide fresh air and daylight to the inner spaces, like getting respiratory organ to let the home breathe,” added the crew.
The upper terrace is aligned with a single-storey garage belonging to a neighbouring house, making sure the location receives maximum sun publicity on the crowded plot.
“Thanks to the lower height of the garage, this area is exposed to the sunlight in the high density residential location, which is a reasonably uncommon situation in Tokyo,” mentioned the group.
“By creating a large rectangular tube right here penetrating north-south, a vivid and airy open space can be obtained.”
A bedroom, bathroom and entrance hall spread across the ground floor of the creating, while a mixed residing and dining area occupies the first floor.
A 2nd bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and tiny research are on the degree above.
The terraces drastically lessen the offered interior room, so the architects put a variety of space-saving measures in location.
In the residing room, a flight of stairs with open risers assist let light to filter via from the terrace, whilst storage regions a constructed into walls and a minimal wooden sideboard doubles as a stage that hyperlinks to the deck.
In lieu of an attic, a tiny storage room with a porthole window was inserted between the ground and initial floors.
This room is concealed behind 3 methods, which can be pushed underneath the principal staircase to provide access.
“The most successful way to achieve genuine spaciousness of urban houses in substantial density residential locations is to incorporate limitless external spaces into the layout rather than trying to make inner spaces larger, which is inevitably constrained by the size of site region,” explained the architects.
“By this arrangement, this residence obtained a enough amount of the practicable room while the daylighting of the residing space and terrace was improved, since the levels of those spaces were pushed up higher.”
An angled courtyard is also set into the heart of a another house designed by Takuro Yamamoto Architects for an empty parking plot. Like the firm’s notion for Small Property Massive Terrace, this arrangement is made to offer you a secluded outdoor area within a Tokyo suburb.
Site strategy – click for larger image 
Ground floor strategy – click for larger image 
Storage floor – click for bigger picture 
First floor strategy – click for bigger image 
2nd floor prepare – click for more substantial image 
Section – click for more substantial image 
