A Home for Living with Cats|Tetsuya Kimura Architects
《Minoh: A Home for Living with Cats》
This compact home is located in a desirable residential area near Osaka and is inhabited by a family of five—including three young children—and their two cats. The family had been living in a previously owned dwelling unit, but decided to rebuild due in part to concerns about earthquakes. On a site where houses stand closely alongside one another, including on the neighboring properties, we proposed placing the living room on the second floor to create a spacious and open lifestyle within a compact home.
The primary living space, where the family gathers, has a pitched ceiling that follows the shape of the roof, creating a generous sense of height. This triangular ceiling extends continuously from end to end along the length of the house, appearing on the street-facing gable wall as a triangular clerestory window. Additional clerestory windows face north on the roof, creating pathways for light and air. A narrow desk corner, separated from the living room by a shelving unit placed back-to-back, offers a comfortable sense of seclusion and enclosure. From the open kitchen, fitted with a stainless-steel framed kitchen, it is also possible to catch glimpses of what is happening in the desk area.
Timber structural members supporting the roof—beams—span the high ceiling. The beams are arranged in pairs around the posts supporting the ridge. Within the gaps between them, we concealed upward-facing indirect lighting to illuminate the ceiling and downward-facing lighting tracks to which fixtures can be attached freely. The tops of these beams make an ideal walking route for the cats. In fact, the beams were paired specifically so that the two cats could pass each other without being stopped by the posts. Other thoughtful touches include a cat flap leading to the litter box, openings through which the cats can poke their faces, and doors to prevent escapes—in short, we tried every possible way to keep them happy. Whether they actually approve of it all remains to be seen—for both the cats and the humans!
Building Overview
Site area: 98.12 m²
Building area: 48.19 m²
Total floor area: 86.96 m²
Structure: Two-story wooden construction
Design and supervision: Tetsuya Kimura Architects
Construction: Kitaya Construction Co., Ltd.
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