Wiel Arets Architects

A' House . Tokyo

Wiel Arets Architects . photos: © Jan Bitter . + dezeen

Located in the heart of Tokyo, A' House was designed for a couple with two children, and is sited in a high density, rapidly gentrifying neighborhood characterized by low-rise residential houses and narrow streets nearby a large park.

© wakiiii

The house occupies a corner lot with south and west facing façades, taking full advantage of minimal local regulations on volume, allowing for site-specific house to be realized. The concrete structure is wrapped in relief glass with a white printed pattern, giving the house a monolithic appearance.

The volume consists of four horizontally divided spaces with floor slabs of varying heights, each connected by a small vertically screwed staircase that, given the footprint of the building, allowing for loft like spaces. Two bedrooms and a bathroom are situated on the lower level, a kitchen and dining area on the ground floor, living and study on the first floor, and a master bed and bath on the highest floor, with an adjacent outdoor terrace on the front end of the house. The terrace is located on the south, allowing for the best possible natural lighting, and the façade envelopes this space.

Project team: Wiel Arets, Satoru Umehara, Alex Kunnen
Collaborators: Jörg Lüthke, Jean-Jacques Jungers, Sadamu Shirafuji, Ilze Paklone
Client: Arets-Sijstermans
Consultants: Tai Mikio Architect & Associates, LOW FAT Structure INC, EOS plus Co. LTD, Comodo Co. LTD, Oskomera Group BV, Saint Gobain Glass, Eiger Co. LTD
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Program: Housing
Size: 136 m2