Description

This housing development bent along the contour of the lot is part of a large housing scheme built by four women architects in Gifu. The structure is raised on pilotis, providing space at ground level for parking and allowing access to the complex from all sides. The crosswall type of construction determines the structure of the building in its entirety – with each crosswall unit corresponding to one room regardless of the allocated use. Each apartment consists of a combination of eat-in kitchen and living room, loggia, and a varying number of rooms on one or two levels. Half of the units even feature a two-story space. All rooms in each apartment are linked via a “sunlit corridor” (with washstands), whose floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto the landscape. The apartments, and all private rooms individually, are provided with access from the continuous covered walkway on the side of the building that is exposed to the elements, in other words, each of the private (or bed-)rooms is accessible from two sides (suitable for renting). The loggias – true “open spaces” – perforate the facade and, in combination with the ex­tremely shallow building depth (lighting, ventilation), contribute to the pronounced light character of the building. The variations in plan and elevation create a stimulating facade image on both sides. The access side with its diagonal strings of fire-escape stairs and the mesh wire skin, as well as the glazed side facing the sun, also make the movements of the inhabitants perceptible from the outside, thus bringing more movement into the facade.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.