House in Nakano

Tokyo, Japan

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House in Nakano

Tokyo, Japan

Firm

HOAA / Hiroyuki Oinuma Architect & Associates

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

Undisclosed

Photos

Takuya Seki (16), Hiroyuki Oinuma (8)

This project is an architect's home and office located in a densely populated residential area of Tokyo. The site boundary was bordered by houses on all four sides except for the north side where the road was located, so we installed large windows facing the road, but the challenge was how to create a bright view of the garden from the north-facing window.
Therefore, a curved terrace called the "Kazari Garden" was extended from the large second-floor window, circling the air along the road in search of sunlight. The Kazari Garden's smooth curves escape the shadow of the building, adding a sparkle to the view from the north-facing dining room window, creating a buffer zone between the city and the residence.
The interior features a split-floor design that takes advantage of the site's elevation difference, creating views of Kazari Garden and the back garden throughout the entire interior space. Furthermore, by surrounding the spiral flow of traffic with shelves displaying vessels, books, photographs, plants and other items important to the residents, we created a sense of tension reminiscent of a small art museum, which we thought would foster motivation to live a fulfilling life in the future.
Stepping out through the second-floor door into the Kazari Garden and watering the plants sparks conversations with passersby, and children can be seen delighted. "Kazari" (= ornament, decoration), including the plants, creates a psychological connection between people, house, and city, and the house behaves as a public entity open to the city.
Rather than applying decorative expression to the architecture itself, as in Art Nouveau and Postmodernism, this work demonstrates a new form and role for decoration in architecture, a style that was once called crime and is often criticized in the modern world, making life in urban homes more fulfilling.