Behind a basic concrete exterior, this residence by Japanese architect Tsubasa Iwahashi is made up of a complex arrangement of rooms connected by three diverse varieties of staircase (+ slideshow).
Named Relation, the property was created by Osaka-based mostly Iwahashi to develop a series of separate spaces that are visually connected to 1 one more.
The aim is for the resident household to come to feel connected to one particular another when occupying diverse rooms.
“Wherever they are in the home, they can really feel a signal of the family members,” explained the architect, whose other house types incorporate one planned close to a dining table and yet another with a stripped-back interior.
“[Residents] are linked to every other, but the residence has a moderate sense of distance,” he stated. “They can commit time together or alone.”
The house is located in a suburban residential spot in Hyōgo Prefecture. It is two storeys large, despite the fact that its interiors spaces are arranged across multiple floors.
The ground floor is level with the street, and slightly sunken down from the spot to the rear of the internet site. The upper storey is split into two amounts, producing a hidden storage spot below 1 of the floors, and there is also a loft area in one corner.
The first of the house’s 3 staircases is a traditional set of wooden stairs that extend up from the reception to a piano space.
Associated story: Japanese home designed about a dining table by Tsubasa Iwahashi Architects
From here, a more minimum set of wooden treads extends up, supported by a diagonal wooden beam.
The final climb is presented by a ladder that leads up from a multi-goal library space to the loft.
It is also wooden, but has been painted dark grey to enable it to stand out. A single of its supports extends out to become the 1st piece in a series of angular struts, which frame 1 end of the loft.
The family’s residing, dining and kitchen places are are positioned in one particular open-program room on the ground floor. Glass doors permit residents to open the space out to a wooden terrace platform.
“On the terrace, the conversation with the neighbours begins, and they will develop a connection with the town,” explained Iwahashi. “Gradually, the home becomes part of the scenery of the town.”
A bathroom and laundry area are tucked away on one side of the residing area behind a wall of bare plaster. A little niche shaped like a mouse hole creates a room for plug sockets.
Engineered wooden flooring runs during the house, apart from at the entrance, exactly where a sunken tiled surface extends in from outdoors. Wooden ceiling beams are also exposed in every single space.
Plywood was employed to develop several furniture factors, such as a frame around the piano and a series of bookshelves that double up as screen walls. There are also golden details, the two on lighting and windows.
Relation was completed in September 2015, and has an general floor spot of 111 square metres.
Photography is by Yoshiro Masuda.
Site strategy – click for more substantial image 
Ground floor strategy – click for bigger picture 
Very first floor strategy – click for greater picture 
2nd floor prepare – click for greater picture 
Segment one – click for bigger image 
Segment two – click for larger image 
