Home For Three Households

Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara

HOME FOR THREE HOUSEHOLDS

Fujiwaramuro Architects

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Shintaro Fujiwara, Yoshio Muro

PHOTOGRAPHS
Shintaro Fujiwara

AREA
63 m²

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Japan

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

The clients, a married couple, approached us with a request to tear down and rebuild their grandmother and uncle’s house so that they could move in together.

Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara

The design enables family members spanning four generations—the clients, their children, their grandmother, and their uncle—to live under one roof while also establishing three separate households.

The design process began with some doubts as to whether it would be possible to create a multi-generational residence on the relatively small lot. After considering both a two-story and a three-story design, we settled on a three-story structure with a steel frame. 

Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara

The family was close even before moving in together and often gathered at the grandmother’s house.For this reason, we took care when creating the floor plan to ensure that the residents would be able to sense one another’s presence even while occupying different floors.

Ensuring as much natural ventilation and light as possible given the dense residential neighbourhood was also a priority.To achieve both of these goals at once, we included two voids in the design.These voids link the first through third floors, serving to connect the residents as well as bring in light and air.

Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara

Their exterior walls and roof of the void are made of glass, which allows sunlight to pour into the entire house; the height differential enables air to circulate.The first floor contains rooms for the grandmother and uncle as well as a kitchen and bathroom.

The second floor contains a living room and kitchen-dining area for use by the entire family, with each room separated by the glass to give the space a more expansive feeling.

Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara

The third floor contains bedrooms for the clients and their children. The result is a home for three households, each of which is able to maintain the distance it needs but still feel connected to the others.


Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara
Home For Three Households
© Shintaro Fujiwara


Home For Three Households
West Elevation
Home For Three Households
North Elevation
Home For Three Households
South Elevation


Home For Three Households
Ground Floor Plan
Home For Three Households
Second Floor Plan
Home For Three Households
Third Floor Plan
Home For Three Households
Site Plan


Home For Three Households
Section A
Home For Three Households
Section B