House K

House K

Kii inc.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

ARCHITECTS
Kii Inc.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Yuzuru Uesugi

MANUFACTURERS
Kvadrat

LEAD ARCHITECT
Satoshi Arai , Kei Nakatomi

GENERAL CONTRACTING
Ishimaru

LEAD TEAM
Satoshi Arai, Kei Nakatomi

AREA
97 M²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
Meguro City, Japan

CATEGORY
Houses, Apartments, Renovation

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

Text description provided by architect.

We designed a residence that doubles as a workspace in a 50-year-old apartment building on high ground in the heart of the city. The building stands on a hillside in the shape of a mortar facing a nearby river.

Because of the change in zoning across the road, there are no tall buildings in front of the apartment, and the balcony offers a wide view of the city stretching out to the horizon, merging with the sky.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

The U-shaped floor has windows on three sides, allowing daylight to flow in and air to circulate throughout the day, as well as enabling the residents to feel close to the outdoors environment even inside.

The topography and the long history of human presence create a unique quality of space that can be found nowhere else but in this very location.

We wanted to create a comfortable place by maximizing and incorporating what is already here, combining all of the elements mentioned above.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

Using the existing planar form, we have reinvented its gaps and empty spaces, constructing one whole space where everything is connected without blocking light or wind.

By dividing and connecting the spaces, we created a place that feels like one large room where residents can share the same atmosphere and freely choose where they want to spend their time, feeling comfortable wherever they are.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

The structure, which contains the handwriting and work of craftsmen, was designed to become a comfortable space by overlapping the new and the old, the rough texture and the delicate material, and the different qualities.

The project was planned to create a comfortable space by layering new and old, rough and delicate materials and different qualities.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

In order to reduce the influence of the strong daytime sunlight and outside air, double-paned wooden sash windows were installed on the west side of the house.

We placed each of the fixtures in such a way as to improve insulation performance while at the same time creating a comfortable thermal environment for year-round living.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

Transparent curtains on the south windows change color depending on the sunlight, swaying in the wind and reflecting the shade of the trees on the balcony.

The leaves of the trees change color, flowers bloom, and fruits grow so that one can spend time each day feeling the change of weather and seasons.

House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita

We hope that the mixture of all the things that are here and the things that will be here in the future will grow into a rich space as residents continue to live in the house.


House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita
House K
© Masanori Kaneshita


House K
Illustration
House K
Plan