Cross-sectional ingenuities are employed in many places, such as in the creation of a storage space under the floor by utilizing the depth of the groundwork that is used to help support the counterweight of the cantilever.

Sunlight showers the open-ceiling entrance hall. The living and dining rooms are designed with a slab floor continuation from the entrance, and they have a superb view that skillfully incorporates the neighbour's well-kept yard as a borrowed landscape. The gentle steps from the living room to the dining room create a stage-like atmosphere in the space, and the skylight emphasizes dramatic shadings.

The balcony protrudes to make full use of the site, but it also creates a sense of depth that is unique to the semi-enclosed space. Furthermore, it has a role of blocking the view from the road.

In contrast to the open first floor, a common courtyard is made for the main bedroom and children's room on the second floor, and garden views and sky views can be enjoyed in privacy. The floor level window from the children's room has a view that extends all the way to the scenery at the bottom of the hill. By cross-sectional manipulation of elevation levels, the biggest characteristic of this house is that one can enjoy the depth and rhythm in many places within the house.

Tepe house
Higashikurume city, Tokyo, Japan
Architects: Satoshi Kurosaki/Apollo Architects & Associates
Completion: 2008
Built Area: 81.78 sqm 109.89 sqm (70.72 sqm/1F, 39.17 sqm/2F)
Structural Engineer: Kenta Masaki
Mechanical Engineer: Zenei Shimada
Photography: Masao Nishikawa