TN House

Klaus-Peter Gast

Description

The principal factors affecting the concept and material qualities of this house in central Yokahoma, aside from the client’s less than complex wishes, were the external conditions. Koh Kitayama’s little house for a married couple has a ground area of only 35 m². It was faced with unusually soft subsoil, and had to be realized with very limited resources. To avoid uneven settlement, a regular, symmetrical structure with a central core and relatively light construction material was developed.

The ground floor had to accommodate an exhibition gallery as well as a parking area for the car, and the architect also decided to position the bathroom in the solid, windowless core. Stairs to the upper areas were arranged on both sides by the core, so that despite different functions, equally large and thus entirely flexible zones were created for living/dining and sleeping. As a result of the centrally placed utility area, the kitchen and a WC are in the core. An extraordinary special feature of the house is the ‘tea balcony’ at the highest point. This is a room that is open to the sky and intended only for the tea ceremony, as the crown of the core.

The glazed area can be seen from the living room below it; it works as a central skylight, for the gallery as well, a second upper floor providing access to the balcony. The rigidity of the plan creates essentially neutral spaces with the highest possible degree of flexibility, but only the tea room suggests identity and the surprising intimacy of an outside space in the midst of the bustling city.