This is a renovation of a 40-year old apartment in Tokyo.
All rooms had sufficient light and wind from many windows along south and north walls facing wide streets. We converted the three-bedroom apartment into a large open space and let light and wind pass through in order to make the best use of the environment.
In an open-plan space, we need to consider how to locate spaces involving privacy including a bathroom and bedrooms, and how to provide enough storage spaces. Our solution was to provide a large closet spanning the entire width of the room.
We removed all partitions and made a large floor area to maintain some “margin” and a sense of spaciousness. Large furniture divides the space according to daily functions and loosely defines a “place” for life, not “rooms”.
We focused on how to integrate a large pieces of furniture into daily life. Reflective finishes are applied on the surface on which daily scenes are reflected and diffused light is reflected to illuminate the space. Closet doors are slightly angled to create subtle gaps in between so that the impression changes according to the viewing angle.
The ceiling and walls are left as they are. Instead of applying new finishes, lace curtains hung along the entire width of the walls serve as new “finishes” creating vivid contrasts with the existing walls.
Delicate qualities of details and finishes stand out and a unique feeling of tension between the old and new is generated by keeping the existing state.
