This project was the renovation of a house built in the 1920s, originally surrounded by old rows of houses. The house, with a frontage of 13 feet and a depth of 42 feet, is likened to the “sleeping place of an eel,” because the next building was very close, and the interior of the house was dark throughout the daytime. The house had also been illogically renovated several times in a way that important pillars, walls, and other original details were lost.
The client wished to live and work at home with paintings. Thus, a studio, sanitary, and home office were inserted as volumes of the structure. These volumes intended not only to reinforce the house, but also to softly divide spaces into vertical and horizontal spaces.
The volumes were painted white so that the texture could visually stand out to indicate the extent and depth of the house. The front of the studio that opened to an alley was changed from a shutter to windows. The lean-to roof was adapted with reflective material that guides natural lighting into the interior and diffuses light throughout the house. Newly inserted structures and reinforcements were also painted white.
The transition to the new look of the house was seamless. Lastly, the softly divided space is versatile, and is designed to be used in different ways should the need arise in the future.