A long narrow residence in Tokyo

This narrow but otherwise tall and beautiful residence is located in Tokyo, Japan. It sits on a site that measures a total of 153.0 square meters but that is 22 m deep and only 4.7 m wide. It’s a strip of land in between two buildings, an urban gap that remained untouched because it was almost impossible to build anything on it. However, Florian Busch Architects found a way to use this space.

Narrow house9

The architects managed to design a house that fits on that site. They worked with a design team formed of Florian Busch, Sachiko Miyazaki and Momoyo Yamawaki along with OAK for structural engineering. The result was this contemporary residence. It was built in 2011 and has three levels.

Narrow house9
Narrow house9

The clients asked for a wide open living space and, given the shape and size of the site, this was a challenge. To manage to offer them the airy, open space they wanted, the architects decided to create a design that opens onto the exterior.

Narrow house9
Narrow house9
Narrow house9
Narrow house9
Narrow house9
Narrow house9
Narrow house9

The three levels have alternating orientations. Also, they are each just a huge open space with no partitioned rooms. This way the space seems larger and the atmosphere it unique. To complement this design and to also create a more intimate feel, soft fabrics were used to counter the coldness of the exterior design. Each level has only one concrete wall, the rest being made of glass. This completely exposes everything, leaving little room for privacy.