23.02.2022 Jakob Schoof

Bay Window Tower House in Tokyo by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

Photo: Masao Nishikawa

Associations with the capsule buildings of the Japanese Metabolists arise with this house erected by Takaaki and Yoko Fuji for a family of four in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. However, the motivation behind the tower-like building that seems to consist of four stacked volumes that resemble containers was different: “Our research into bay windows from around the world revealed that they take many forms and play many appealing roles, from a device for bringing in light to a type of furniture for sitting on to a decorative interface with the city. Our design features bay windows on every floor and every side of the building, giving the residents many options for where to spend their time. In this tower, windows become sites for sitting, writing, sleeping, decorating, and many other activities.”
The shape of the floor plan − an asymmetrical octagon − was created with the intention of leaving the neighbours’ views unobstructed to a great extent. Besides, the Far East teachings of Feng-Shui claim that the octagon is a lucky shape. With the exception of the recessed entrance level, every storey measures about 22 m2. The entire house has an overall area of 84 m2, and this on a lot that is only 44 m2 large.
In order to keep the cooling needs of the house as low as possible, the architects carried out simulations for daylight, heat and wind and used the results to develop three types of building openings: windows that can be opened, others that cannot, and opaque ventilation flaps. All these are distributed throughout the building to ensure that the house has the greatest amount of daylight, the heat input is as low as it can be and cross-ventilation is as efficient as possible. In order to reduce the heat load even more in the summertime, the architects have clad the exterior of the house with 50-mm carbonized cork. This material acts as weather skin and insulation in one; it gives the house an aesthetic that counteracts the somewhat technoid character of the stacked cubes. A supporting steel skeleton is concealed behind the shell. The natural material look of the façades continues inside: the living room and bedrooms feature teak flooring. The ceilings and walls are clad with 4-mm tropical lauan plywood mounted to panels of plasterboard or calcium silicate.

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Shohei Yokoyama

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Shohei Yokoyama

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Foto: Masao Nishikawa

Lageplan und Grundriss EG, Grafik: Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

Grundriss 1. + 2. OG, Grafik: Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

Grundriss Dachgeschoss, Grafik: Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

Schnitt, Grafik: Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

Detail, Grafik: Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/T/7/T735-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/T/1/T1500-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/1/01-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/2/02-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/3/03-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/4/04-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/5/05-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/6/06-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/7/07-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/8/08-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/0/9/09-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/0/10-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/1/11-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/2/12-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/3/13-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/4/14-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/5/15-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/6/16-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/7/17-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/8/18-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/1/9/19-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture-Grafik-Lageplan_Grundriss-EG.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/2/0/20-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture-Grafik-Grundriss-OG-1_2.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/2/1/21-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture-Grafik-Grundriss-Dachgeschoss.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/2/2/22-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture-Grafik-Schnitt.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image https://detail-cdn.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/media/catalog/product/2/3/23-Bay-Window-Tower-House-Tokio-Takaaki-Fuji_Yuko-Fuji-Architecture-Grafik-Detail.jpg?width=437&height=582&store=de_en&image-type=image

These articles might also interest you

Copyright © 2024 DETAIL. All rights reserved.