An arched tunnel is formed among these two houses situated beside a Japanese tea garden close to Tokyo .
Akio Nakasa of Japanese firm Naf Architect & Style developed the two residences to residence three generations of a single family. The first house accommodates a single grandmother, while the second is the property of a couple and their child.
Named Arch Wall Property, the structure was conceived as two separate buildings that appear as halves of a entire. Regardless of getting diverse in size and height, they line up with a single one more to develop the central arch.
“The edges of the curved exterior walls stretching from the two sides of the slope [roof] are somewhat apart, generating the buildings separate from a legal point of view,” explained Nakasa.
Related story: 3 Way Home by Naf Architect & Style
“Even so, these buildings, even though they are independent, stand face to face and side by side to share daily lifestyle and area.”
The architect – whose past projects include a home with a climbing wall and ladders, and a residence that looks like it is been chopped in two – developed the buildings for a site that is also home to a conventional Japanese tea backyard and two tiny shrines, in Hachiouji, west of Tokyo.
Single-storey property
The site is sandwiched among two roads, and the tunnel supplies an accessibility road connecting them. Entrances to both of the residences are also found beneath the shelter of the arch.
“As autos are the principal indicates of transportation, the slope in between the buildings serves as a driveway for everyday convenience,” said Nakasa.
Single-storey residence
The 1st of the two homes is single-storey, making it more suitable for an elderly resident, although the other consists of two storeys, enabling adequate space for a increasing household.
There are no windows on the north side of both constructing to avert disturbances from the hectic principal road, but both attribute a small best-lit courtyard with a decked surface and glazed sides, assisting to bring in extra natural light.
Two-storey property
“Daylight from the skylights is reflected on ceramic tiles on the curved walls to give distinct results by the time and climate,” stated the architect. “When sunny, it is sharp, when cloudy, it is soft, and in the morning and evening, pale violet blue light spreads inside.”
Two-storey property
Glazing was also added all through the interiors, offering each clerestory windows and see-through walls.
This is most prevalent in a double-height living space that types the centre of the loved ones home, and which is positioned beside a glazed music space.
Two-storey home
Herringbone-patterned flooring was added to offer some decoration to the otherwise minimally furnished space.
Overhead, a balcony corridor connects the two 1st-floor bedrooms.
Storage locations for the two residences have been producing by creating cupboards into the angled within wall.
Photography is by Toshiyuki Yano.
Ground floor prepare 
Initial floor strategy Dezeen
