Located in a quiet residential area in the north of Osaka, this house is a home for a couple and their two children.The family desired a home that would nurture the family bond and provide a space for everyone's activities.


Bordered by roads on the North and West and with a park to the South, the plot is an L-shaped configuration. With the house at the center, there is an open backyard area to the South and an area for parking two cars and four bicycles on the West.


With a two-story structure running North-South and a one-story section intersecting from the West, there is a large living room at the center connecting the individual rooms within. The exterior walls finished with an earth-tone sprayed plaster with cedar cladding around the entrance and under the eaves, create a welcoming approach that emphasizes the length of the house with the horizontal planks.


The interior layout starts with a spacious entrance hall with an adjoining shoe closet. As you come into the home, there is the bathroom and other facility rooms on the North side of the floor. On the South side of the floor is where the main living room that is the heart of the home and the place for the family to be together is located. The large exterior facing windows and high ceiling create a connection with the backyard space and a secondary living room located upstairs.


The kitchen is defined by a custom-made counter and cabinets by Akka. Along the backwall is a bespoke cabinetry with space to display artwork by the owner's father on the wall above. Beyond the kitchen is a large pantry with additional counter space, leading to the laundry room and bathtub area.


For the Owner with a passion for digital music production, a dedicated music room with measures including sound-insulating sheets on the walls and ceiling to ensure minimal disturbance to neighbors was built. The door to this music room has a fixed glass panel to maintain a line of sight with the living room and can maintain a visual connection with the other family members.


The large main living room has a definitive border created by a large tile wall flanked by steel stairs. The stairs lead up to the secondary living room where the children can play and study. Past the upstairs living room are the bedrooms for the children. The tiled wall is a partial height wall that blocks a direct line of sight and creates privacy between the two floors, but still allows the family to hear and sense the presence of others.


On the second floor is also the master bedroom, a shared walk-in closet, and restroom. The master bedroom, while being a space for privacy, has a connection to the rest of the house with its direct access to the catwalk leading out to the main living room space. This catwalk is making use of and creatively concealing in plain sight a large structural beam required to withstand the wind load on the house.


Structurally, this house is designed as a wooden structure as the structure does not rely on the steel beams in the entrance and living room to provide seismic support for the house.


The backyard with the wood deck connecting to the main living room is the main feature of the outdoor space of this home. Privacy from the adjacent park and neighboring houses are achieved with a 2-meter-high wooden fence and plantings. Small trees and shrubs have also been planted along the North and West edges of the property. As each year passes, these plantings will grow to create a green and scenic streetscape that the family can enjoy over the years.


■Project Overview
Architect:Junji Oshiba, Shinsaku Nakamura (KURU CO.,LTD.) + Kazuteru Matsumura (coil Kazuteru Matumura Architects)
Structural design: Naoto Kashimoto, Ashu Hirakawa (Ascoral Engineering Associates)
Lighting design:Shuji Maeda (L・Logistics)
Construction: Yuya Kita ( AL FRENTE Co.,Ltd.)
Location: Osaka, Japan
Project Completion: December, 2023
Structure Type: wooden, two stories
Site area: 276.06m2
Building area: 119.79m2
Total floor area: 168.36m2
1st floor area: 101.54m2
2nd floor area: 58.75m2

■Exterior finishes
Roofing: galvalume steel plate
Wall: acrylic silicone painting, cedar cladding
Sash: aluminum
■Interior finishes
Wall: wallpaper, ceramic tile, mosaic tile
Floor: oak wood flooring
Ceiling: wallpaper
■Partners
Carpenter: Asada Construction
plastering: Matsuda plastering
Joinery: Okude Tategu
Iron work: Kinozu Waters
Painting: Shinwa Kogyo
Wood supplier: Shinken Sangyo
Foundation work: Onishi Construction
Electric work: Licht-tec
Plumbing work: S・ESenterprise
Landscape work: Doi Teien
Photographs: Yohei Sasakura (Sasanokura-sha)
Translation: Hiroshi Nobe, Kaori Kurasawa

