this light-filled house in osaka is sandwiched between two apartment buildings

in a residential area of ​​osaka, mountain house architects has designed a two-story wooden building with a loft that serves as both a private home and a graphic design office. the site has an extremely narrow frontage of a mere 4.2 meters (14 feet) and a depth of 18 meters (60 feet), and is sandwiched between apartment buildings on both the north and south sides, as well as an existing house on the east. the brief called on the architects to create a bright and open interior under these tricky conditions.

all images by kaoru yamada

with the maximum volume determined by the surrounding conditions, mountain house architects planned two entrances for the home and office onto a rectangular layout. in order to minimize corridor spaces that would otherwise lessen the already narrow floor area, stairs were placed at the center of the building. this spatial configuration in turn divides the ‘public’ office and living spaces from the client’s ‘private’ spaces, such as the bathroom and bedroom.

the center of the house takes advantage of the site’s depth, creating the sense of wideness throughout the entire space. meanwhile, between the north and south load-bearing walls lie the toilet and storage spaces. beams with angle bracings are located on both sides of the house, allowing ample natural light to filter inside the dwelling and furthering the effect of creating a bright space — all the while maintaining privacy from neighboring dwellings.

project info: 

principle use: residence / graphic design office
structural design: ladderup architect
production: gekko
credit: 
design cooperation: +architects
building site: osaka, japan
site area: 68.05m2
total floor area: 97.12m2
number of stories: 2f+loft
structure: wood
design period: 2017.11 – 2019.04
construction period: 2019.01- 05
photo: kaoru yamada