Wonder The One Room

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura

WONDER THE ONE ROOM

Yota Hokibara + Tomoyo Hokibara Architects

ARCHITECTS
Yota Hokibara + Tomoyo Hokibara Architects

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Yota Hokibara

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, Enscape, BEAL, Silent Gliss, Kvadrat, Rhinoceros

DESIGN TEAM
Yota Hokibara, Tomoyo Hokibara

PHOTOGRAPHS
Akira Nakamura

AREA
56 m²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Japan

CATEGORY
Apartment Interiors

It has been five years since we joined the architecture firm Takenaka Corporation in Tokyo. We found a good chance to purchase this second-hand apartment and planned to renovate it as a personal project. The concept is "wonder the one room".

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura
Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura

We aimed to create a "one room" where you can feel the presence of the spiral staircase and skylight anywhere by dividing the space not with a wall but a curtain to unite the space and create a light atmosphere.

The Mongolian “ger” is a typical example of a basic one-room form of the house. Gers have no walls, and different zones are placed in one space, with a skylight in the center.

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura
Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura

This project itself is a study of a "one room" among the diversifying lifestyles of today are. A living room zone, a resting zone, a dining/working zone, and a storage zone are all arranged in one space.

We tried to scatter three different kinds of "wonders" in order to create an appropriate “distance” between each zone. 

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura
Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura

The first “wonder”, the “DOMA” crosses all zones - from the entrance, under the skylight, to the front of the bed. Making a relationship that connects spaces while separating them, the “DOMA” area reaches into each unrelated zone.

The second “wonder” is the S-shaped full-height curtain which creates a private feeling in the bedroom and a sense of depth and connection in the one room.

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura
Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura

The bedroom and closet are placed behind the S-shaped curtain, and another L-shaped curtain is placed between the bedroom and S-shaped curtain.

The bedroom can be hidden away by closing the double curtains. The plan is to be able to change the opacity of the space according to the person's mood and sunlight.

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura
Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura

The third “wonder” is the “framing wall”; with its free and open design, it includes a bookshelf, storage space, display shelves, a TV, dressing table, lighting, and small workspaces.

This wall, composed by double flat iron bars, confronts the soft S-shaped curtain, giving a sharp rhythm to the one room.

These three types of “wonder” mix together in multiple layers, giving a feeling of expansion and depth to this small one-room.

Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura
Wonder The One Room
© Akira Nakamura


Wonder The One Room
Details
Wonder The One Room
Floor Plan