Tai and Associates: House in Shinoharadai

The site is situated on a small hill in Yokohama. A new program, composed of two-family residence and office, is applied to the building, while paying attention to preserve the family’s history and memories attached to the land.

The building is divided in different volumes according to the scale of the surrounding residences. The podium is constructed of concrete retaining walls, the main volume, which is regarded as piano nobile, is made of concrete using wood panel formwork with tongue-and-groove joints, and the white volume contains office. The form of each volume expresses a different function inside.



The interior space is planned around the old pine tree with the family history. Living, dining and kitchen spaces of the parents’ house are located around the tree, and the exterior wall continues into the interior space, integrating the terrace and the living room. Children’s house and office shares the main entrance. The impressive stairs lead to the second floor from the entrance hall. All the volumes protrude into the void, with the soft natural light cascading from above; this is the symbolic space of this architecture. The office has a modern interior space based on black and white in harmony with the landscape.

From the second floor one can enjoy a full panorama of Yokohama Bay. The second floor is composed of an open plan in order to provide fine views from everywhere for the children’s family. Living, dining and kitchen spaces extend to the roof terrace continuously, so that the interior and the exterior merge into each other, and the house will open up towards the sky. 

These three separate functions are closely connected with the exterior in different ways, while placed at an appropriate distance where one can feel presence of others.  

House in Shinoharadai, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Japan
Programme: Residential
Architects: Katsuma Tai and Associates
Structural Engineer: Motoi Nomura
Area: 278,26 sqm
Completion: 2013