'ESPACE' by apollo architects & associates

‘ESPACE’ by apollo architects & associates

Tucked into a downtown residential neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan, ‘ESPACE’ is a two-story, wood-clad house completed by local practice Apollo Architects & Associates earlier this year. The owners, a couple with minimalist taste and superfluous possessions, wanted a private home on the compact lot that prioritized a spacious atmosphere over physically large rooms.

As ‘ESPACE’ abuts the north side of a narrow road and is hemmed in by closely packed houses, the architects omitted windows from the facade facing the street to maintain privacy; all natural light filters into the house from a courtyard and set of clerestory windows. Meanwhile, the team clad the building frontage in a rigid wooden frame to maximize its usage.

‘The gate-shaped frame avoids the need for load-bearing walls on the north side of the house, allowing for three windows to occupy the full width of that side, with a row of clerestory windows above. Built-in wall storage takes advantage of the shape of the frame’s posts, making the space functional even without additional furniture,’ writes Apollo Architects & Associates.

‘ESPACE’ by Apollo Architects & Associates | all images © Masao Nishikawa

daylight as a tool to make each room feel spacious

Apart from its dramatic sloping surfaces and minimalist aesthetic, one of the most striking features in ‘ESPACE’ is daylight distribution. The three north-side windows let in soft, diffuse light in the family room that occupies the whole of the second floor. Meanwhile, direct southern sunlight shines in along the sloped roof and is reflected off a wall into the room, brightening the area near the windows. This light filters through the floor grating onto the first level, housing the bedroom and bathroom. In addition, sunlight pours through clerestory windows running the length of the north side, casting beautiful gradations on the sloped gable ceiling and ensuring that the kitchen at the back of the house receives adequate illumination.

‘By treating the entire building as a reflector, we succeeded in creating a separate universe of diffuse light that makes the rooms feel spacious and echoes the uniquely tranquil character of the residents,’ concludes the practice.