naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
image © toshiyuki yano
all images courtesy of naf architecture and design

 

 

 

japanese practice naf architecture and design was commissioned to complete an interior renovation of a 4-story, 17 year old home in a dense neighborhood of tokyo. the layout of the existing rooms made little sense, especially considering that the new house was to serve a family of three with a chiropractic clinic. in order to consolidate the bedrooms, entertainment rooms and businesses in one pre-existing form, a timber box, dubbed a ‘switch box’, was installed in the very center of the building acting as a spatial intersection for all functions. accepting visitors at the front door, the switch box acts as a waiting room to the chiropractor’s office, the vertical circulation to the living room, bedrooms, and karaoke room in the basement.

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
ground level
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

 

the remainder of the structure by contrast is rendered in a stark white color, including walls, ceilings and structural elements. the box, made of deck wood, serves an important role in circulation but also interacts with every other space. the roof is peeled back, allowing natural light from the skylights to reach the ground levels. the top of the box reaches high enough to serve as a desktop for the living room area, and smaller areas off to the sides of the box allow for noise transmittance while blocking visual connections- allowing for privacy.

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
(left) inside the timber switch box
(right) view from above
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
top level – top of box serves as a desk
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
entrance into the box
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
office space
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
original house
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
original house
image © toshiyuki yano

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
diagrammatic concept

 

 

naf architecture and design inserts a switch box in an existing home
section

 

 

 

project info:

 

 

name of the project: switch box in house    
location: suginami ward, tokyo
category: detached house
structure: wood construction
maximum height: 8.859m
frontal road: 5.54m on the west
site area: 71.51m2   
total floor area: 127.99m2
completion: desember 25, 2012
architect: akio nakasa(director) ,daisuke aoki
photographer : toshiyuki yano