Tokyo-based Daisuke Yamashita Architects has designed a home for a couple and their two children in central Tokyo. Built on a typically narrow plot in a close-packed urban area, this unconventional residence with its impromptu appearance is a quintessential example of Japanese architectural ingenuity.
“Irifune Little House” is located in the Irifune neighborhood of Chūō-ku, Tokyo. The neighborhood is a lively blend of residential and commercial spaces. Chūō-ku’s literal meaning is “Central Ward” — the ward is the original commercial center of Tokyo (its best known district is Ginza, a bustling upscale shopping quarter).
Daisuke Yamashita Architects has adeptly arranged Irifune Little House within the confines of a small site in this hugely built-up area.
The home is a steel structure that utilizes a 125 by 125 millimeter structural steel H-beam for both columns and beams.
A grid of five 2.4-meter spans by 3 meters is placed in a plan view; four spans of 2.4 by 2.4 meters are stacked in a section view. The building has a simple, layered configuration with levels connected via a full-height open staircase.
The home’s volumetric depth and height juxtaposed with its narrow front creates a complex interplay between depth and distance. Daisuke Yamashita accomplished this by the “spiraling motion of split-level rooms sandwiching the staircase.” The studio introduces a sense of complexity in terms of movement through the home, removing any feeling of monotony in its overall composition.
The building’s aspect is especially utilitarian — for example, the use of galvanized corrugated sheet steel on the exterior facade sets it apart from neighboring dwellings. Daisuke Yamashita describes Irifune Little House as having “an impromptu and temporary appearance in its practical state with only the structural framing, exterior walls, and windows.” In this low-cost project, furnishings and fixtures are minimally expressed. From Daisuke Yamashita’s perspective, the architect believes “this situation could be interpreted as a positive response to the underlying nature of an increasingly unwarranted heterogeneous city.”
The home is designed in a manner that will accommodate future requirements: floors, finishes, and fixtures can be adjusted to meet the demands of family structures; any reshaping of the urban context can be met by altering the building’s purpose.
Tokyo’s changing architectural landscape is a perpetual phenomenon. Irifune Little House “is an unfinished residence that contains never-ending changeability,” says Daisuke Yamashita. In the world’s most-populous metropolitan area, the architect views this little house as “a small shelter holding its ground against the city.”
Irifune Little House (House “irfn”) features in Archello houses of the month - September 2024.
Site area: 48.91 square meters (approx. 526 square feet)
Building area: 35.53 square meters (approx. 382 square feet)
Total floor area: 93.06 square meters (approx. 1,002 square feet)