takato tamagami: N house

‘N-house’ by takato tamagami, tokyo, japan image © masaya yoshimura all images courtesy takato tamagami

japanese practice takato tamagami have sent us exclusive images of the ‘N-house’, a pair of residences separated by two interlocking volumes. perched on high ground in tokyo on a 15 meter wide by 30 meter long plot oriented in a linear configuration which stretches from north to south. the interiors of the dwellings feature diverse spatial sequences with U-shaped circulation and courtyards to introduce daylight from all cardinal directions. the A-house is entered through a narrow corridor which guides to the stairwell that leads into the living area. moving away from the dark hallway towards the light, a raised garden and gallery is revealed, transitioning between the external and internal environments.

a soundproof room with a 4-meter tall ceiling supports musical ventures and contains shading panels for a movie projection screen. half a level above the space, a study bordered with glass partitions enable dwellers to enjoy the movies at their convenience. a V-shaped living area on the top floor frames a panoramic view of the city, including sunsets and the tokyo tower to the east.

street view image © masaya yoshimura

upon passing through the initial front door, dwellers approach the B-house by ascending a stepped pathway through the courtyard. the walls of an existing church encloses the landscaped area while rooms from both the A-house and B-house overlook the vegetation. wind blows through the first dwelling’s raised garden and into the enclosed court while daylight emanating from the reflective finish of the white cement plaster softly illuminates the sealed off outdoor room.

front doors for the A and B houses image © masaya yoshimura

courtyard image © masaya yoshimura

entry to the B-house images © masaya yoshimura

A-house images © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

raised gravel garden and gallery area image © masaya yoshimura

raised garden image © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

study overlooks the projection room image © masaya yoshimura

soundproof room for movie projections and musical practices image © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

images © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

images © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

image © masaya yoshimura

house A image © masaya yoshimura

courtyard entry to house B image © masaya yoshimura

courtyard at dusk image © masaya yoshimura

street entry elevation at dusk image © masaya yoshimura

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

floor plan / level -1

footprint

influences upon the extruded form

daylight diagram

ventilation diagram

entry sequence

views diagram

views diagram

program diagram

aerial view

project info:

project name: N-house location: tokyo design company / architect: takato tamagami architectural design / takato tamagami construction: satohide corporation photographer: masaya yoshimura scope of work: new construction structure: reinforced concrete structure principal use: residence total floor area: 586.87m2 
finish material: exterior wall: white cement plaster exposed aggregate finish with coral sand roof: sheet water-proofing interior floor (a-house): travertine / rose wood oil finish / carpet interior floor (b-house): rose wood oil finish interior wall(a-house): stucco semi gloss finish / aluminium panel interior wall(b -house): acrylic emulsion paint finish /exposed concrete interior ceiling(a-house): stucco interior ceiling(b -house): acrylic emulsion paint finish construction period: 2010.10.18～2012. 2.17