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Apollo Architects: Gaze

The house APOLLO Architects & Associates designed for an art collector in Japan is an hybrid structure with a podium and wooden boxes organized in two floor levels on top.

This residential project located in Obu city, Aichi prefecture, serves also as a gallery space for the contemporary art collection of the client.

This building consists of a hybrid structure, with a podium on the 1st floor level composed of reinforced concrete and glazing, and wooden boxes configured in two floor levels and placed on top of the podium. Floor area becomes larger as it goes up in higher levels. With the box on the 1st floor level in glazing, and the other boxes for 2nd and 3rd floor levels in galvanized steel, the building provides a distinct character from its proportion with a sense of floating in the space.

The 2nd floor level is cantilevered, in order to provide a garage space in pilotis style for two cars on the 1st floor level. The 1st floor podium is fully glazed on the street side for giving good visibility of the gallery. The floor level of the gallery space is lowered as a semi-underground sunken space to be magnetic, while a concrete partition provided inside of the space blocks the direct daylight, allowing visitors to the gallery appreciate art pieces via reflected light on the ceiling.

A staircase is provided for approaching to the entrance dedicated to the residence part. Direct access is provided to the 2nd floor level with gathered private spaces and water section, and to the 3rd floor level with a family room. Those spaces are lit by daylight from the top light above the staircases and the balcony, adding gentle atmosphere to the spaces.

The interior finish and furniture of the family room is intentionally given monotonous colors with the utmost simplicity, allowing this space to be converted from the living space into alternative gallery space in the future to exhibit the art collection of the client. It will be a viewing room, for living together with art without loosing sense of privacy, by making good use of inner balcony and other elements for fully reducing openings of the building directly connecting to the outside.