a 'sky cave' crowns this three-storey building in tokyo by IKAWAYA architects

designed by IKAWAYA architects, ‘sky cave’ is a three-storey building in tokyo that contains a clinic on its ground floor and two residences above. located in the city’s meguro ward, the site is located in close proximity to a railway station and is surrounded by lush green vegetation. in the design of the ‘sky cave’, the architects continued this sense of nature with gardens that offer different characteristics.

all images by akinobu kawabe

the uppermost storey, which lends the project its name, is mainly used by a young family. here, a wide opening with a terrace is oriented towards the neighboring forest. the design team says that the terrace had to be enclosed with partition walls and deep eaves in order to block out the noise of passing trains and views from neighboring buildings. ‘to enable natural sunlight to reach the forest, we filleted the edges of the building,’ explains IKAWAYA architects. ‘as a result, the building’s interior became a cave-like space, which embraces you and fills the space with a sense of security.’

below, the intermediate floor provides living accommodation for the grandmother of the family. ‘in order to block noise of trains and views from the neighboring buildings, the residential space was planned to face the courtyard garden to the south which is surrounded by 6-meter-high (20ft) walls,’ the design team continues. the courtyard wall is finished with paint or wooden planks to diffuse noise as it reflects off the wall.

visitors to the clinic on the ground floor (seen in the images in the gallery at the bottom of this page) are greeted with a garden of deciduous trees, which have been positioned to hide the neighboring buildings. ‘this garden provides a relaxing atmosphere to the visitor instead of giving a sense of intimidation,’ say the architects. previously, IKAWAYA architects completed another distinctive house in tokyo, which was one of 2018’s g-mark japan good design award winners.

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project info:

name: sky cave
location: tokyo, japan
program: house & clinic
architect: IKAWAYA architects
structural engineer: yAt structural design office
mechanical engineers: zo consulting engineers
garden design and construction: SOLSO
construction: EIKO construction
site area: 310 sqm / 3,337 sqf
floor area: 452 sqm / 4,865 sqf
completion: may 2020
photography: akinobu kawabe