Architects Atelier Ryo Abe

This house is surrounded very closely by its neighbors, and therefore very difficult to maintain a feeling of privacy. Therefore, the positioning of windows, and the levels of floors became very important. The stairways flowing along tilted walls, and the seemingly random layout breaks our conventional notions of floors and rooms. These various skewed areas intentionally encourage a sense of ambiguity, and openness, while nurturing a sense of privacy. Movement of sunlight throughout the day has an important effect on the interior’s character. Light can spread cross room boundaries, giving one a continually renewed sense of space. A central feature of the house, the Study Room, is defined not by walls, but with floor-to-ceiling open shelving. Viewing the building from within this room at different angles, and at different times of day gives one the sense of being in a much larger space than they actually are. At nighttime, the movement of people inside casts a play of light on the entire interior of the house.