‘SLIDE house’ by komada architects office, suginami-ku, tokyo, japan

image © toshihiro

all images courtesy of komada architects

 

 

in the dense tokyo suburbs, takeshi and yuka komada have redesigned the bland, grid-like approach to cooperative housing in favor of a dwelling centered around dynamic movement and active spaces organized by mobility. ‘the SLIDE house’ consists of 9 total units, built around a central courtyard and connected by sharply angled paths of circulation. while the courtyard is split by a green screen, each apartment’s program is linearly assembled and linked by a network of stairs. the effect is that of a stacked series of landings; some extruded and containing domestic spaces and others shortened to emphasize their liminality. this is fundamentally an architecture of human movement, wherein the planar areas of ‘treads’ become spaces of rest and study and the vertical slabs of ‘risers’ become walls and shelving units. four of the apartments open to the elongated courtyard and five units have a private roof balcony, a rare feat in the otherwise congested city fabric. the staggered landings also create optimal conditions for ample amounts of interior light. the slab-like surfaces strike an aesthetic balance between a harmonious addition to the urban context and a welcome change in the geometry of the skyline.

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

more than half of the units have roof balconies, allowing tenants unprecedented access to the cityscape

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

sunset views from the private roof terraces

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

the residences are both separated and linked by stairways

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

steps transcend their primary function and become shared social spaces

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

stairs also elegantly give way to areas of program, like the above transition from roof balcony to kitchen

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

the angled passages allow light to tumble into the space

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

(left): a view of the tatami areas from the base of the stairs(right): a view of the study/sitting area from the top of the same steps

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

exaggerated treads and risers become a child’s play space

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

interior view

image © toshihiro

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

night view of the central courtyard and curved ‘green screen’ designed for climbing plants

image © toshihiro

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

komada architects office: SLIDE house

site plan

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

roof plan

komada architects office: SLIDE house

 floor plan level 2

komada architects office: SLIDE housefloor plan level 1

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

floor plan level 0

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

floor plan level -1

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

section

 

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

unit H axonomteric

 

komada architects office: SLIDE house

unit N axonometric