At first, the architects have visualised a thin and strong wall as a membrane which contends on the borderline between architecture, person, substance, and phenomenon.
In other words, the wall is both substantial in its mass, and has a sense of transparency.
The small windows dug on the concrete wall bring a feeling of inner depth and darkness, which trees as the origin of a dwelling make. Finally, they developed once the structure of space with the darkness, which trees have, and became a trial which is reconstructed as an architecture.
As a result, while the exterior feels like a closed space, the house connects its inhabitants with the city.
Sabaoarch, The Wall of Nishihara, Shibuya, Tokyo. Left: Photo Yuji Nishijima. Right: Photo Ohno Shigeru
The Wall of Nishihara, Shibuya, Tokyo
Program: single-family house
Architects: Sabaoarch (Masanori Kuwabara )
Structure engineer: Matou Hayata
Contractor: NK
Area: 40 sqm
Completion: 2013