tato architects: house in yamasaki

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Nov 15, 2012

first image
'house in yamasaki' by tato architects, hyogo, japan
image © ken'ichi suzuki
all images courtesy of tato architects

designed for a single family with two children in the northern area of hyogo, japan, local firm tato architects have sent us images of a house they have completed
that plays with micro-urbanization on a grey plinth. the entire footprint was sunken into the ground 760 millimeters, lowering the roof line and opening views
to the surrounding mountains and landscape, but also creating a stable semi-subterranean level that uses the earth's mass for natural insulation.
the grey wooden platform houses the main living spaces, kitchen and bedrooms in a wooden frame structure that uses the same material for interior
partitions and floor surface. large voids in the ceiling plane connect this open-plan area with three smaller versions of the archetypal house with
spatially efficient ladders. two of the mini-dwellings resting on the base platform are similarly constructed of slender timber frames and clad in
translucent corrugated polycarbonate panels. these volumes contain the bathroom and sun room in spaces that do not transmit direct sunlight but
rather enjoy diffused illumination during the day and glow at night, in addition to acting as light wells and greenhouses for the space below.
the third construct is a solid structure and contains a guest room. the canopy then becomes a common courtyard shared amongst each individual
protrusion from the primary foundation, with extruded aluminum handrails and storage boxes and benches. the exterior is covered in long cement
board panels and efficient insulation and vapor barrier.

smaller archetypal houses sitting on an inhabitable wooden base
image © ken'ichi suzuki

transparencies glow at dusk
image © ken'ichi suzuki

image © ken'ichi suzuki

windows can be used as doorways as the roof also becomes a terrace
image © ken'ichi suzuki

image © ken'ichi suzuki

rooftop terrace with integrated aluminum seating
image © ken'ichi suzuki

interstitial spaces between mini-houses
image © ken'ichi suzuki

openings in the floor plane allow the user to step inside
image © ken'ichi suzuki

corrugated plastic panels create a shaded light box
image © ken'ichi suzuki

bathroom
image © ken'ichi suzuki

image © ken'ichi suzuki

ladders communicate the main living space to the upper houses
image © ken'ichi suzuki

image © ken'ichi suzuki

(left) office
(right) dining room
image © ken'ichi suzuki

image © ken'ichi suzuki

lower office space
image © ken'ichi suzuki

interior wooden partitions
image © ken'ichi suzuki

main living space
image © ken'ichi suzuki

image © ken'ichi suzuki

construction of light-house

interior of house

assembly of corrugated translucent panels

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

section

elevation

project info:

project name: house in yamasaki
location of site: hyogo japan
site area: 231.72m2
building area: 93.68m2
total floor area: 119.11m2
type of construction: wooden
program: house
project by: tato architects
principal designer: yo shimada
design period : oct.2010 -aug. 2011
construction period: oct.2011 -feb.2012

danny db

11.15.12

tato architects (6 articles)

that sink is pretty cool, as are the levitationg stair treads

dbkii says:

Nov 16, 2012

Reply
What is up with the concrete flooring inside the house?

Andrew says:

Nov 17, 2012

Reply

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LOG IN VIA

tato architects (6 articles)

tato architects: house in yamasaki

three miniature archetypal houses sit atop a common living space and utilize the entire roof plane as an (read more)

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