interconnected skipped floors outline compact toneyama house in japan

white metal sheets coat tiny Toneyama House’s facade

Takuya Takemoto Architects builds Toneyama House, a residence situated in Toyonaka City of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, showcasing innovative spatial design. The skip-floor structure covers a small lot of 76.72 sqm with a distinctive west-side access road. Facing constraints like a limited frontage, a long and narrow site shape from east to west, and a height difference from the neighboring land on the east side, the design embraces these challenges crafting a residence that defies the ordinary. Due to the restrictions imposed by the diagonal line on the north side, the ceiling height of the second floor cannot be sufficiently secured by standard design.

all images by Yohei Sasakura

Takuya Takemoto Architects sets up a skip-floor layout

The Toneyama House unfolds across fourteen interconnected spaces, cleverly linked by nine layers of skipped floors. This compact residence deviates from conventional layouts with stairwells and corridors, utilizing hanging floor and ceiling planes to liberate the building from height limitations. The design features several innovative elements, from the striking 2.13-meter cantilevered garage to the 3.64-meter column-free space with climbing beams. Vertical windows facing the stairwell and high sidelights cutting through the sky on the east facade add further layers of complexity and variety to the space. Takuya Takemoto Architects engages in an architecture that balances innovation and minimal design while maintaining a sense of everyday elegance.

Toneyama House pops up on a street in Toyonaka City