tato architects has wrapped this family house in takatsuki, japan, in a charred wood exterior while attempting to create a simple yet complex, geographical, and cave-like labyrinth inside. the small residence is designed with a continuous floor arrangement that extends gradually over a series of sixteen different stepped floors. rather than using walls and different floor levels to clearly divide the space into various functions, everything loosely connects and disconnects from each other through stepped floors.tato architects wraps house in takatsuki, japan, in charred wood exteriorall images by shinkenchiku sha

 

 


tato architects has built the house in wood, while the spaces between the floors were enclosed due to structural limitations. by overlaying a diagonal grid rotated at 45° on top of a rectangular shell, the japanese architecture studio attempted to create a simple yet complex, geographical, and cave-like labyrinth captured inside a small house. the floor rises from two different points in a spiral to meet on a floor that is the dining and kitchen, and separates to finally meet again on the rooftop. 

 

‘the idea is to create a sense of expansion inside a small house, so that you would find yourself on top of a rooftop in one moment, and tucked beneath a floor in another, ‘ explains tato architects.

tato architects wraps house in takatsuki, japan, in charred wood exterior

 

 

 

the roof is designed to meet the setback regulations, and when it was installed on top of the series of floors, the house, while reminiscent of a traditional home, became a rather curious polyhedron. the site is in a suburban residential neighborhood on a slope developed into terraced plots; the neighboring ground levels are also uneven. ‘in the beginning, we thought about using a split-level composition in response to the conditions of the location – this idea eventually inspired the design for this project,’ adds tato architects. ‘as a result, sixteen different floors were packed into this small house, expanding and moving around in different directions to create a functional, cave-like foundation to support the life of the residents.’

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project info:

 

 

name: house in takatsuki

architect: 
tato architects/yo shimada

location: takatsuki, osaka, japan



team: yo shimada, akira yasuda


structure: 
takashi manda

structural design 
team: takashi manda, taijiro kato
planting
coca-z tatsuya kokaji

construction: shokenkikaku/naoki sasahara


site area: 114.61㎡


building area: 46.37㎡ (40.23% of max 50% of coverage ratio permission)


total floor area: 96.05㎡ (83.81% of max 100% of floor area ratio permission)