form/ kouichi kimura architects: slender promenade house

‘promenade house’ by FORM / kouichi kimura architects, shiga, japanimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

japanese architect kouichi kimura of FORM / kouichi kimura architects hast just shared images of his newest house for a young couple in shiga, japan. immediately the spatial restrictions of the site are apparent, measuring a slender 4 meters wide by 35 meters long – with a built area of only 2.7 meters wide by 27 meters deep. spread out over two floors, a well-planned spatial organization emphasized by natural light makes the interior feel open and lively. on the ground floor, a linear hallway runs through the entire length of the house serving the living and dining rooms. two hallways on the second floor connect to a central stair well illuminated by a skylight that brings natural light into the center of the home. one contains a green wall while the other continuous colorful curtains that playfully veil the entrance to the bedrooms. the corridors become linking factors in a linear footprint, like promenades the form a continuous flow of circulation through a series of airy spaces.

image © takumi ota, kei nakajima

view from the back side of the siteimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

front entranceimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

image © takumi ota, kei nakajima

entry areaimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

ground-floor hallwayimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

image © takumi ota, kei nakajima

kitchenimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

kitchen and dining areaimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

living room and elevated office spaceimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

image © takumi ota, kei nakajima

stairs and living roomimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

image © takumi ota, kei nakajima

upper level corridorimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

bathroomimage © takumi ota, kei nakajima

image © takumi ota, kei nakajima

project info:

location: shiga, japan
client: private
construction year: 2013
site area: 166.08 sqm
built area: 124.3 sqm

Reminds me of the typical town house in Vietnam. Very similar usage of space. The modern private town houses went up in height only, nowadays often up to 7 floors 😉
E. Neu
Jul 17, 2013
really good
yeshwant
Jul 04, 2013
Japanese architects have become masters of building on otherwise throw-away urban spaces. Wish plan had been published.
Hea R. Sawho
Jun 25, 2013
Super well done. Compliments…
Fernand Hofer
Jun 25, 2013
I’ll move in.
dadap
Jun 25, 2013
amazing – fantastic resolution of an immensely restrictive site
lots of great detailing, a masterly handling of spatial and formal aspects and an absolutley stunning entry facade
dbkii
Jun 24, 2013