Yuko-tei
Setagaya,Tokyo,JAPAN
a ‘garden’ where a family lives
| Architect | Furuya Nobuaki+NASCA |
|---|---|
| Usage | House |
| Structure | RC+W |
| Size | 2F |
| Site area | 236.94㎡ |
| Area | 219.24㎡ |
| Completion | 2022.03 |
| Publishing | Juutakutokushu2022.07 |
The Japanese word for ‘home’ consists of the characters for ‘house’ and ‘garden’. When thinking about what a home means to a family, there is no one unconcerned about the ‘house’ as a living space, but the meaning behind the ‘garden’ is often neglected.
Due to the recent spread of infectious diseases, we are re-evaluating the importance of being able to take in fresh air from windows and outdoor spaces in our daily life. With this opportunity, it may be a good idea to reconsider the meaning of ‘garden’. The ‘space’ inside and outside of the homesite not only physically allows for good ventilation and lighting, but also plays an important psychological role in mediating the relationships with the neighbours and among family members living together. The garden is not merely for enjoying scenery or hobbies, nor is it necessarily limited to one’s own premises.
The client grew up in this place, lived here by oneself, and built a house to once again live here together with the younger generation. There are both old acquaintances and new residents in the neighbourhood. Suppose you build a house like a courtyard, the family will have an inner garden, but it will become closed off to its surroundings. It is essential to have a connection between a place where each person lives and a ‘garden’ for maintaining an appropriate distance (a recently often-heard term) without excessively bothering family members or isolating from neighbours. We named this house ‘Yukou garden’ after the single remaining yuzu tree from the previous generation’s garden. All the places where people live are connected three-dimensionally inside and outside to become part of the garden.
Due to the location in the city the main structure is RC, the 2nd floor wooden joists and roof framework were left exposed. Although the bedrooms and bathrooms do not overlap, both the lower and upper floors have living and dining area as their core, and people can feel each other’s presence through the garden. It is also possible to play around by connecting the lower floor terrace and the upper floor balcony. By not shutting off the garage, the garden becomes connected to the neighbourhood through the street space outside the house.
Photos: Asakawa Satoshi