Introducing A House with “Ma” Connecting Two Households, a custom-built home example by AtelierMA, a Architect / Design office in 2B Yanakada Building, 3-13-2 Tabata, Kita-ku, Tokyo

A home in a residential neighborhood of Ota-ku for a parent household and an adult child’s household. While respecting each family’s independent way of life, the house was carefully planned to create a comfortable sense of distance in which the presence of family members naturally moves between the two households.

The building combines multiple volumes to gently divide the domains of each household while forming a single home as a whole.

A balcony connecting the two households is placed at the center, creating a setting where family members naturally gather and interact in the course of daily life. By valuing the spaces and distances that emerge between the households, this home gives form to “ma”—an in-between space that connects people and their relationships. Total floor area: 192.12 m² (58.11 tsubo)
Structure: Three-story timber construction