NRM architects office: residence in kurakuen

‘residence in kurakuen’ by NRM architects all images courtesy NRM architects photographer: eiji tomita

‘residence in kurakuen’ by osaka-based practice NRM architects office (shunichiro ninomiya and tomoko morodome) is a 2-storey work-and-live house located in hyougo, japan. the unusual site, which is inclined, sandwiched between a 5 meter fall to the east, a waterway to the south, and a 3 meter-high climb to the northwest, became the main driver in the designing process. the dwelling aims to navigate these conditions in a graceful and organic manner.

approach

a large open volume is cut out from the ground floor level to accommodate a 3 car garage. to either side are two independent entrance ways into the house. the western entrance is a long narrow staircase leading up to the first floor office area; the eastern entrance, a much more traditional double-door setup, opens up to a spinal hallway which connects the bedrooms to an indoor staircase leading up to the living, dining, and kitchen space.

(left) balcony off the first floor (right) curved roof edge

the communal programs take advantage of the natural daylight and unbroken sight lines provided by the second level. largely laid out in an open concept, the living/dining and kitchen space is flanked with floor to ceiling glazing, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding wooded environment. a wide patio space features a small shallow pool which wraps around the corner behind the living area. the shadow play resulting from the perforated steel staircase above the water becomes a dynamic background to the interior.

small outdoor pool and perforated staircase

dining and living space from the kitchen; the outdoor staircase leading to the roof in the background

characteristic to NRM, the limiting site and shortage of space pushes and challenges the design of the house. the resulting layout offers clever visual connections on top of pragmatic spaces that do not compromise the dwelling quality.

(left) top of the stairs from the ground floor, looking into the study nook on the first floor (right) hallway on the ground floor leading to bedrooms; staircase up to the dining/living/ kitchen

(left) washitsu, or japanese style room (right) small garden beyond the entrance way

roof top patio

ground floor plan in context of site

first floor plan

roof plan

project info:

architects: shunichiro ninomiya + tomoko morodome location: hyougo, japan principal use: office and living structure: reinforced concrete structure, 2 stories site area: 496.86 m2 building area: 174.81 m2 project completion: 2010