This is a two-family home with a “garden” on the second floor, sandwiched between residential zones. By shifting each floor, a large asymmetrical balcony appears. The site was too small to put a garden on ground next to the building, so we located it on a reinforced concrete podium, with a separate wooden structure overhead. The ground floor zone is for the parents and the third floor, built of wood, is for their children and grandchildren. A dining / kitchen is on the same level as the “garden” as if it is a part of the garden; the entire floor is conceived like the Japanese doma (an area which was part of the traditional home, with an earthen floor).
The semi-open garden, surrounded by a plastic net such as those used for screens around pitching practice areas, is often used for baseball practice by the grandchildren, and sometimes as a lunch space, like a picnic spot under a big tree. Flower pots around the periphery catch rain. We wanted people to feel the virtual volume of the garden, although in fact it is a void, with white walls, floor and ceiling. The garden is a spacious yard, which commands an extensive perspective of the Osaka Bay area.
location | Takarazuka City, Hyogo Pref. |
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principal use | residence |
completion date | 2009 |
total floor area | 129m2 |
structure | wood, reinforced concrete 3 stories |