ReNOA Motosumiyoshi

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ReNOA Motosumiyoshi

Firm

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2010

ReNOA
is the name of a series of renovated condominium buildings by ReBITA, a company
specializing in renovation projects. ReNOA building exteriors are fully
renovated and then the residential units are sold. In this ReNOA Motosumiyoshi
Model Unit project, renovation of this residential unit preceded the work on
the whole condominium building in order to illustrate how a private unit can be
designed. The model was sold at the end to a married architect couple who liked
this renovation, and at present is living in the unit.

Since
the original layout was shown for comparison at the same time, it was necessary
to appeal to a buyer the drawbacks of the previous plan and how improvements
were made to correct them. Originally, in order to create three separate rooms
besides the living, dining, and kitchen space, the entrance was small, and the
living room adjoining the Japanese-style room was not spacious. Moreover, the
confined kitchen in this layout made communication difficult with family
members in the dining area.

Because
young couples were the main targeted buyers for these units, the model unit was
designed to make one bedroom the only private room, and to make the other areas
unified as much as possible in presenting a feeling of openness. The design
delivered a distinct broadness at the moment of entering the residence, by
extending the original small entrance hall into a larger area where hobby work,
for example, can be performed. A tall shoe closet partitions the kitchen and
this entrance area, but the ceiling connects by virtue of the clearance between
closet and ceiling, and this openness towards the kitchen can be sensed.
Indirect lighting installed on top of the closet makes the ceiling seem even
higher.

The
corridor from the entrance leading to the living and dining area runs along the
side of the island-style kitchen counter, and feels like part of the wide, open
kitchen, although its actual width is unchanged from an ordinary hallway. The
floor is lowered inside the kitchen counter, but stays at a good height on the
opposing side for a normal chair, instead of a stool for high counters, because
the height is 73 cm from the raised floor to the counter top. A four-seater
dining table can fit at the end of the kitchen counter. When required to
remodel the living area into a child’s room in the future, for example, the
dining and living area can thus be arranged more compactly. The walls around the bath and other areas equipped with
plumbing have a magnet-friendly chalkboard finish, so messages and schedules
can be written with chalk and printed materials can be posted with magnets
here.

The living and dining area is made to feel more spacious by
raising the ceiling even higher, and by lowering the floor to create a break
from the kitchen area, which needed the raised floor to secure routes for
plumbing. The dining and living areas
can also be used in a continuous fashion with the deck in the private garden.
The railing between the original balcony and garden was removed for more
openness from deck to garden. The living and dining areas consequently feel
larger than their physical sizes.

In this condominium renovation, the big
L-shaped space excluding the bathroom and the bedroom is partitioned gently by
placing a wall that does not reach the ceiling, by varying the heights of the
floors, and by fitting waist-height counter tops.

Product Spec Sheet

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Team

Akira Koyama

Architect

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ReNOA Motosumiyoshi

ReNOA Motosumiyoshi

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team