This is a project for a detached house built in a quiet residential area near Kichijoji Station where relatively large divisions of land remain.

The residents are a family of three, a couple and their one preschool child. We aimed to create a house where the couple, who are busy with their daily lives and work, and their growing child can live happily and healthily with a variety of places to stay and a moderate sense of distance.

The site is in an area where the maximum building coverage ratio is set at 40%, and the surrounding buildings each have their own garden and a certain amount of space. Rather than a closed building like a courthouse, we wanted to secure an introverted space that is somewhat open to the surroundings while protecting privacy and a rich relationship between the outside and the inside.

In terms of plan, instead of a box shape that is connected in a single line like an L-shape or U-shape, we chose a staggered shape with various corners with shifted shapes, and each segmented box was given a height that corresponds to the altitude diagonal line from the northern boundary. All the divided boxes with different heights are treated equally, and instead of creating a back of the building, each space has an opening to the garden, which is a small space. The three-dimensional interior is composed of a split floor, and the 2.5-story space has a sharp contrast between high and low ceilings. The gaps in the cross section are slightly offset, allowing light and wind to enter from the outside and the presence of the family from the inside.

When you enter the entrance, you will be drawn to a large space with a ceiling height of 3.5m. This large space leads to the living room, and is a centripetal space that is gently connected to the second floor corridor with a "small library," the children's room on the 2.5th floor, which is half a floor higher, and the teleconferencing space set up next to the living room to accommodate changes in work style, through the gaps in the internal windows and split floor, and also leads to a large garden owned by relatives and currently vacant. It is by no means a place with an overwhelming view, but the blanks created by dividing it into two dimensions and cross sections are intended to create diverse relationships with the outside and a comfortable sense of distance with the family.

The exterior walls are covered with cedar boards that have been dyed gray in anticipation of fading, and the interior perimeter is also covered with the same cedar boards. The light that shines in from the windows installed in multiple directions illuminates the cedar boards from various angles, creating various expressions. You can feel the complex outline of the building even while inside the room. The entire space is unified with gray materials to make the furniture stand out, and the rough-grained white plaster material on the rounded walls inside the room connects the ceiling and wall elements.

We aimed to choose a taste and materials that will not get old over time, but there are also little gimmicks, such as part of the shelf in the "small library" in the second floor hallway serving as a "hidden door" that leads to the WIC, and the bathroom window leads to the kitchen void to avoid the view from the neighboring house, creating a tranquil yet playful space.