Kumi Inoue Architects

Skip Floor｜Introduction to Architecture Firms｜Stepped Levels Enrich the Space

Author: Qurasuki Editorial Department

A skip floor (split-level) is a design technique that introduces intermediate floor levels between primary floors to produce three-dimensional variation and spatial depth. By manipulating sightlines and ceiling heights, it can make confined floor areas feel more expansive, and it is often employed in urban housing as a planning strategy that turns compact site constraints to an advantage. At the same time, this approach demands the designer’s experience and technical expertise due to considerations such as accessibility (barrier-free design) and increased complexity in structural planning. Here we introduce architectural firms that have refined the skip-floor concept into a distinctive spatial quality.