PROJECT 4.
In Praise of Shadows
[The journey to site sketched]
establishing constraints.
ORDER
The ordered 900×1800mm grid is inspired by the dimensions of traditional Japanese tatami mats, historically used to define the proportions of a room.
FLOOR PLAN
The ordered grid makes it easier to create divisions within a site that is irregular in shape. The arrangement of the mats are reflective of the activities that take place within - ranging from a private core to a more public frontage.
[Early development of the grid]
Design Principle 2:
Material honesty.
Kigumi, the traditional Japanese craft of timber joinery without metal or glue, serves as inspiration for this project – a celebration of timber construction and the revival of age-old techniques. Where structural weaknesses arise, contemporary technology like CNC milling and metal fixings are employed. In this way, the project becomes a celebration of timber structures – reinforced as necessary with more contemporary methods – a reflection of a community strengthened through mutual support .
[Residential unit interior]
COMMUNAL
The structure of the communal buildings is organic in shape and creates an open light structure. The modular structure can be easily modified and expanded as it is to be expected that the use of these spaces will evolve, functioning as seating and shelving.
sliding screens.
This project addresses the neglect of single-parent households living in the shadows of Japanese society. However, shadow is also very desirable in a region of unbearably hot and humid summers. Providing shade by means of sliding screens - traditionally used as doors or partitions and diffusers of light - also facilitates privacy. Conceptually, these screens allow the whole site to be treated as one large home - the units are simply spaces within this home that can be fully enclosed when residents wish to withdraw from the wider group. This physical proximity encourages emotional closeness and a sense of community.
[Exploded sectional axonometric with sliding door highlighted]
[Ground floor plan]
Design Principle 3:
[First floor plan]
[Residential unit first floor plan]
[Second floor plan]
about.
Design Principle 1:
CHAOS
A second grid was introduced to reflect the ordered chaos of Shimokitazawa, drawn from the angles of buildings within a 50-meter radius of the site.
FOUNDATIONS
The second grid was used to shape concrete foundations that double as a pool for rainwater collection. The rainwater is collected through rain chains, emphasising a functional architectural element (drains) that would otherwise be hidden.
[Early development of the grid]
[Sketched section illustrating private and communal divide]
[Residential unit facade]
In the residential units, each component is stacked, tensioned and compressed to create a dense wall that creates privacy and a sense of solidity and security. It functions too as a load-bearing wall, integral to the use of sliding screens.
[A series of diagrams illustrating the multifunctionality of the stairs]
[Residential unit section]
[Sectional render through communal second floor building]
RESIDENTIAL
-
Tokyo, Japan
-
2021
-
Individual Project
-
Amid the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, this 'open studio' encouraged students to develop self-directed briefs, shaped by sites of personal familiarity and meaning.
-
At the heart of this co-living project is a wish to shine a light, literally and metaphorically, on the beauty of the bones of a structure; to make a virtue of the multidimensional and sculptural nature of structural form in a way that many designers of buildings, in choosing to conceal them, do not.
