Dezeen Magazine

House with a hair salon hidden at the back by Apollo Architects & Associates

A high-end hair salon and family home are separated by a courtyard planted with a single tree in this building designed by Tokyo firm Apollo Architects & Associates in the Japanese city of Hamamatsu (+ slideshow).

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Apollo Architects & Associates designed the Fleuve home for a client who required a small salon space from which to operate his business.

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"Our design strategy is to minimise the size of the salon, to create a compact and intimate space where the hair stylist gives utmost attention and professional service to the customer," said the architects.

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The salon is located at the rear of the house and is surrounded on two sides by glass walls that look out onto a planted garden.

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Clients walk around the building from the car park at the front to an entrance at the back, which is protected by large eaves.

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A separate door for the owners leads to a turfed internal courtyard with a tree at its centre.

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"[The] entrance court with a family symbol tree is specially designed as a transitional zone where the client is able to switch his mood from business to private," the architects explained.

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The courtyard adjoins a hallway that connects the owners' entrance with the rest of the rooms on the ground floor, which included the master bedroom, bathroom and wash room.

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Also on the ground floor is a room dedicated to the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which looks onto its own small courtyard.

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"Our intention is to fill the space with an atmosphere of warm welcome from the hair salon to the tearoom, and in and out of the house," the architects added.

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Above the salon is a large roof terrace that can be used to extend the open plan space containing the living, dining and kitchen areas when the family has guests.

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Materials including poured concrete, walnut floorboards and built-in cabinetry lend the interior a warm and sophisticated feel.

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Apollo Architects & Associates also designed a small house in Tokyo with a long staircase that leads to an entrance on the top floor and a tall, angular house that frames views of a nearby observation tower.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here's some more information from the architects:


Fleuve

The client, who is a hair stylist/a salon owner, requested us to design a house with a hair salon.

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It is an exclusive and luxurious hair salon where the salon owner himself provides all services, and the number of clients is limited to only two at the same time.

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Our design strategy is to minimise the size of the salon, to create a compact and intimate space where the hair stylist gives utmost attention and professional service to the customer.

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On the contrary, we provide the maximum floor area of the house.

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The glass-clad salon has a stylish and sharp atmosphere, but the sharpness is softened by greenery in the front yard and low and deep eaves above it.

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Ground floor plan - click for larger image

Lounge for resting is provided as a buffer zone between the hair salon and the house. And entrance court with a family symbol tree is specially designed as a transitional zone where the client is able to switch his mood from business to private.

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First floor plan - click for larger image

The client's wife practices tea ceremony, so we design a Japanese room to welcome tea guests, with a compact courtyard (called "Tsubo-niwa" in Japanese) attached.

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Section 1

Our intention is to fill the space with an atmosphere of warm welcome from the hair salon to the tearoom, and in and out of the house.

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Section 2

On the second floor, family room and child's room are divided by the stairs in between. Study room in the middle acts as an intermediate space in between.

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Elevation 1

Roof of the hair salon becomes a wide roof balcony adjacent to the family room.

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Elevation 2

It can be used as an extended family room on occasions such as big parties with many guests.

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Elevation 3

From the windows, one can enjoy the view of the family symbol tree, along with the beautiful background of the adjacent park and trees along the street.

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Elevation 4

Project details

Location: Hamamatsu city Shizuoka
Date of Completion: May 2013
Principal Use: Private Housing
Structure: Timber
Site Area: 299.99 m2
Building Area: 92.44m2
Total Floor Area: 129.99m2 (81.14m2/1F, 48.85m2/2F)
Structure Engineers: Masaki Structure (Kenta Masaki)
Facility Engineers: Shimada Architects (Zenei Shimada)
Construction: K.K.DEN co.,ltd.

Material Information
Exterior Finish: Lithing Spraying
Floor: Walnut Flooring
Wall: Wall Paper
Ceiling: Wall Paper