Dezeen Magazine

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

This house in Tokyo by Japanese practice Torafu Architects creates built-in furniture through the overlapping of interior spaces.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

House in Ookayama is constructed on a narrow plot and has an entrance halfway along the elevation to maximise the size of the rooms, which are all accessed via a central staircase.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

A storage space is inserted between the first and second floors and the floor of the living room also extends into the bedroom as a desk.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

Photographs are by Daici Ano.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

More by Torafu Architects on Dezeen »

More Japanese Houses on Dezeen »

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

The following is from the architect:


House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects:

A Collection of Large Furniture
Two generations live in this three-storied wooden house located in a Tokyo residential area.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

The site corresponds to a 4.7 m wide × 16.5 m long fringe of the land where the owner's parents lived.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

Furthermore, the site is enclosed by buildings on three sides while its northern side abuts directly on the street.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

The layout was designed to alleviate the impression of narrowness of the frontage in as much as possible and make the best use of the site's conditions within the maximum volume allowed by setback restrictions.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

To minimize pressure from the corridor on the frontage path we devised a basic plan that placed the entrance and stairs at the center while the bedroom and public areas are divided on a north-south axis.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

Taking into account the fact that the occupants had many belongings, we incorporated a storage space shaped like a box between the 1st and 2nd floors.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

Above the bedroom on the 2nd floor is a child's room that resembles a huge table.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

Each part is connected by stairs bearing a different design and the space between some of the steps can be used for storage as well.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

The floor of the living room on the 2nd floor extends into the bedroom where it serves as a desk.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

The toilet in the intermediary storage space protrudes into the 2nd floor to act as a light-well and a table.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

The bay window in the wall connecting to the ceiling can also become a bench, giving a sense of loftiness to the whole space. Boards placed between the four sturdy walls passing through the 1st to 3rd floor become shelves and desks that make for a big storage wall by using the structure of the house.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

This random-looking composition resembles multifunctional stacking,thus can be seen as one large piece of furniture.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

We implemented a cross-section design free from the hierarchical configuration of a normal building, blurring the boundaries between building and furniture.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

From the fitting of the terrace to the placement of the shelves and other minute details, we employed a construction method by aggregation, whereby each architectural component becomes a piece of furniture.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects

This makes the house a vessel that allows for perpetual change to take place and leaves enough leeway for its inhabitants to add their own touch after they move in.

House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects
House in Ookayama by Torafu Architects