airhouse adds enclosed courtyard garden to house in toyohashi, japan

japanese architecture office airhouse has built ‘house in toyohashi,’ a private residence in aichi prefecture, japan, complete with an enclosed courtyard garden, or ‘tsubo niwa’ in japanese. the building is surrounded by convenience stores and their parking lots on the south and west sides, and the eastern connecting road with adjacent houses on the north. therefore, the main challenge of the project was how to secure a bright and open living space while ensuring enough privacy for its residents.

all images by toshiyuki yano

led by architect keiichi kiriyama, airhouse approached ‘house in toyohashi’ through a series of steps that ensure privacy, as well as an open living space with plenty of natural light inside. first, the gable roof is lowered on the south side, while two large ‘house-shaped’ windows have been opened on the east and west sides. then, each room of the two-story house has been placed on the four corners of the building, and connected via a bridge on the upper level. in this way, all spaces of the interior benefit from plenty of natural light.

an enclosed courtyard garden (or ‘tsubo niwa’, in japanese) is placed on the south side of the building, under the extended roof, incorporating the outside environment into the interior. in this way, it is possible to secure enough privacy without losing the connection to nature and the exterior surroundings. as a result, a rich living space is created by carefully considering the shape of the roof, the location of the openings, and the arrangement of the floor plan.

project info:

name: house in toyohashi

architect: airhouse

lead architect: keiichi kiriyama

location: toyohashi, japan

structure: workshop

contractor: tateya