House in Kawasaki
Architect: Kazunari Sakamoto, Tokyo
Designed for the architect’s own use, this house stands on a
sloping, north-east-facing site in Kawasaki, a district in the
greater Tokyo area. The dwelling is situated in a typical,
densely built residential neighbourhood with nondescript, low-
rise developments. At first sight, the house would seem to be
nothing very spectacular itself. Occupying almost the entire
polygonal area of the site at the junction between two roads,
it is a structure in which no two outer walls are parallel. The
stone-clad concrete plinth was conceived as a link to the
steeply sloping street and the immediate surroundings.
The entrance to this simple house is via a covered access and
parking space deeply incised in the volume of the building.
From there, a series of broad, shallow steps rises through a
gradually narrowing space to the terrace at the rear. Parallel to
this, an internal flight of stairs extends up from the entrance to
the spacious living room and study on the upper floor, where
sliding doors and casements open on to the terrace. From the
entrance, a further route leads down past the bathroom to the
bright, open-plan kitchen-living space and to a tiny Japanese
garden at the side. In other words, these gently rising stairs
create a single space that winds up through the entire house,
defining the different living realms. With these angular, flowing
internal forms, the architect is able to exploit the dimensions of
the site to the full, at the same time creating a high degree of
habitable quality and a distinct spatial experience.
The internal wall and soffit linings and the large areas of shelv-
ing are constructed with untreated Japanese lime, a wood that
changes its character as it ages. Juxtaposed with these finish-
ings is antique furniture that bears the marks of past use; and
the house is filled with the owner’s large collections of art and
objects. For him, the passage of time is an important aspect
which he seeks to make legible in the design.
Drawn over the upper floor with its column-free timber struc-
ture is a large, irregularly shaped roof. For pragmatic reasons,
the ridge line is rotated on plan: the warm-air underfloor-
heating system is served by rectangular solar collectors,
which have to face due south. Fixed to the rafters, these
standard-size panels form the main roof surface. The roof-
scape is complemented by flat-pitched areas of metal sheet-
ing in the peripheral zones.
Site plan scale 1:750
Axonometric (not to scale)
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“I think the space that forms our environment
should not be space within such a fixed strong
system, that it should be more free, open, and
released.” (Kazunari Sakamoto)
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Sections
Floor plans
scale 1:250
1 Forecourt
2 Entrance
3 Bathroom
4 Tatami mats
5 Kitchen
6 Garden
7 Living room
and study
8 Terrace
aa bb
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a
7
1
4
b 2 b 8
7
3 4 5
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1 roof construction: 3 sliding aluminium casement with 12 mm plywood with gravel bed
0.4 mm PTFE-coated sheet metal double glazing 4 mm Japanese lime veneer 8 cupboard fitting:
bituminous waterproof membrane 4 2x 38/286 mm timber post-and- 7 ground floor construction: 12 mm plywood with
12 mm fireproof sheeting rail-structure 5 mm cork tiles, 12 mm plywood 4 mm Japanese lime veneer
aramid-fibre layer 5 upper floor construction: 20 mm chipboard 9 55 mm tatami mat
12 mm plywood 5 mm cork tiles, 15 mm plywood 193 mm double-floor system 10 terrace construction:
100 mm glass-wool thermal 38/235 mm timber joists for warm-air heating 180–210 mm reinforced concrete
insulation between 9.5 mm plasterboard 100 mm concrete thermal slab finished to falls
38/286 mm timber rafters 6 wall construction: storage element 25 mm polyurethane
100 mm glass-wool 15 mm cement-fibre slab 300 mm polystyrene thermal insulation
thermal insulation 40 mm ventilated cavity thermal insulation 9.5 mm plasterboard
30/30 mm wood lathing 90/180 mm timber posts 150 mm reinforced concrete slab 11 140 mm tuff stone
5.5 mm plywood with vapour-retarding layer perimeter insulation backfill, vapour-retarding layer
4 mm Japanese lime veneer 50 mm glass-wool thermal vapour-retarding layer perimeter insulation
2 warm-air solar-collector panel insulation, vapour barrier granular subbase 220 mm reinforced concrete wall
3 4
6 8
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Longitudinal section
scale 1:50
10
11
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Christian Schittich - 9783034615174
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Christian Schittich - 9783034615174
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