This is a newly built custom house in Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture. The site is a corner lot in a quiet residential neighborhood, offering a favorable environment. There is a slight level difference between the site and the adjacent street, but it does not materially affect the design. The house is a single-storey timber structure. The household consists of three people. From here, a pleasant life begins.
We were consulted after the client decided to purchase the land, and proceeded from land acquisition through to completion and handover. On this generous site we constructed a single-storey timber house. In the original plan we had considered adding partial second-floor rooms; however, by reviewing the required spaces and reducing construction costs, we eliminated the second-floor rooms. Instead, we adopted sloped ceilings that take advantage of the gable roof pitch, creating a more expansive living space.
Opening the custom-made wooden sliding front door, the entrance hall is on the right and an entrance storage area is on the left. The entrance storage includes shoe storage as well as space for items such as camping equipment. Inside, the living, dining and kitchen areas are connected in an offset arrangement across a courtyard, which broadens sightlines. Three private rooms are distributed separately to provide each family member with their own space.
By dispersing shared spaces rather than consolidating them, the plan allows family members to spend time together or maintain a subtle distance from one another, creating a variety of living modes. The interior is finished in a calm, predominantly black palette. By coordinating fixtures such as the kitchen, toilet and washbasin in black, the residence achieves a hotel-like ambience.
Structure: Timber, single-storey, conventional timber-frame construction
Zoning: Category I Low-Rise Residential Zone; area subject to Article 22 of the Building Standards Act
Site area: 259.72 m² (78.70 tsubo)
Building footprint: 105.17 m² (31.87 tsubo)
Total floor area: 103.51 m² (31.37 tsubo)