OBSERVED
architecture
lighting
opportunism
Rapid development could turn
the most beautiful views into
d reary urban wa llpaper.
LIVI NG ROOM
KITCHEN
BATH
SPARE ROOM
A Nod to Botany
CLOSET
BEDROOM
Young architects capture light in
a crowded Tokyo neighborhood
by curving a house toward the sun.
This elevation shows how sun coming in
through the skylight (right) bounces off the
northern wall into rooms on every floor.
Tokyo’s residential districts are a dense mix of multiunit
buildings and small plots with single-family h ouses separated only by 20-inch gaps. Since founding Takei Nabeshima
Architects (TNA) in 2005, Chie Nabeshima and Makoto Takei
have made a practice of defying the limitations of such sites.
However, their latest project, a mischievously tilted 355-
square-foot shaft in the Meguro ward, is their most audacious
design yet. continued on page 36
The facade
consists
entirely of
mosaic tiles.
Because the young parents wanted
a home that would foster family
life, the living-dining room was put
beneath the skylight, where people
would naturally want to gather.
