be-fun design: gulliver house

'gulliver house' by be-fun design in nerima, tokyo, japan
all images courtesy be-fun design
image © hiroyuki hirai


japanese architects be-fun design has shared with us images of 'gulliver house', a multi-unit
housing project in a quiet residential area of tokyo, japan. much like the tale of gulliver's travels
in which the protagonist finds himself in a land of tiny people, the design manipulates the height
and presence of the ceiling within the area's building code to playfully skew the sense and scale of space.



interior view
image © hiroyuki hirai


situated on a site surrounded by a number of low-lying wooden houses, the two-storey building
sits deep on the plot to create an outdoor parking space to the front. the street facade is read as
two parts with one half of the elevation extruding to the east. finished in a dark and textured skin,
the monolithic volume obtains a graphic profile with a dramatically pitched roof line. an elevated
strip of transparency visually breaks up the solid makeup of the multi-unit dwelling. 



lowered ceiling height by window
image © hiroyuki hirai


accommodating seven units within, the design focuses on delegating appropriate spatial volumes
for each apartment while abiding by the local code which restricts the building height to 10 meters.
by inserting partial levels in an offset manner, separation is created between different zones of the units.
the resulting ceiling height of 1.3 meters changes not only the impression of the space but also the user type,
catering to children as a designated play area. by tightly stacking the domestic programs, the design
seeks to inject a new dimension and plane within the conventional home.



kitchen
image © hiroyuki hirai



from mezzanine level
image © hiroyuki hirai



skylight
image © hiroyuki hirai



image © hiroyuki hirai



image © hiroyuki hirai



upper unit
image © hiroyuki hirai



image © hiroyuki hirai



image © hiroyuki hirai



ground floor unit
image © hiroyuki hirai



sliding window
image © hiroyuki hirai



view onto outdoor space
image © hiroyuki hirai



street elevation
image © hiroyuki hirai



at night
image © hiroyuki hirai



physical model



unit diagram



floor plan / level 0



floor plan / level +1



floor plan / level +1.5



floor plan / level +2



roof plan


cross section


project info:

site area: 441.49 m2
building surface: 156.51 m2
total floor surface: 309.53 m2
structure: wood

architects: tsuyoshi shindo / be-fun design
structural design: kenji nawa / nawakenji-m