Inner peace: in response to its typically diverse Tokyo context, the busy facades of Waro Kishi's latest house conceal a more restrained series of interior spaces.Waro Kishi is known to many of us for his delightful black-beauty Hu-tong House that wonderfully translated the format of the traditional Chinese house type into Japanese in Osaka. Three years later the same architect has taken a very different approach on a tight corner-plot in Tokyo. Built for an elderly couple in a quiet residential district, this house is far more playful than its muted predecessor. While Hu-tong gave little away, here the resolution of formal and spatial intricacies has been surprisingly stylised Adj. 1. stylised - using artistic forms and conventions to create effects; not natural or spontaneous; "a stylized mode of theater production" conventionalised, conventionalized, stylized in almost De-Stijl manner. While the Hu-tong House was wonderfully reinventive, turning in on itself to create an intimate introverted in·tro·vert·ed adj. Marked by interest in or preoccupation with oneself or one's own thoughts as opposed to others or the environment. courtyard, here the outcome is far more flamboyant with the prominence of the corner articulated by a series of interlocking interlocking /in·ter·lock·ing/ (-lok´ing) closely joined, as by hooks or dovetails; locking into one another. interlocking Obstetrics A rare complication of vaginal delivery of twins; the 1st volumes, sliding planes and portal walls; elements that while being site specific, yielding to planning law and an existing plum tree, are strangely familiar. Waro Kishi claims categorically to be Modernist through and through, and therefore this recognisable return to neo-plasticity should come as little surprise, however, the house does feel somehow predated. Even balcony rails remain loyal to Modernism's ocean-liner aesthetic, with the eclectic choice of materials being the only clue to the building's age. Fortunately, the interior tells a different story. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Internal spaces have been configured to be ambiguous, with a number of overlapping volumes that prioritise Verb 1. prioritise - assign a priority to; "we have too many things to do and must prioritize" prioritize grade, rate, rank, place, range, order - assign a rank or rating to; "how would you rank these students?"; "The restaurant is rated highly in the food space above surface. Entered at the north-west of the site, where the climb to the raised ground floor is at its least, visitors are led directly into the living room. With the floor level slightly lower than the external terrace and adjoining kitchen, the living room benefits from a slightly higher floor to ceiling height. This generosity is then further expanded into the lofty central light well, which is flanked by the single most dominant material intervention; a 6m high teak-lined wall. Toplit and masterfully mas·ter·ful adj. 1. Given to playing the master; imperious or domineering. 2. Fit to command. 3. Revealing mastery or skill; expert: a masterful technique; masterful moviemaking. proportioned, the double-height toplit atrium atrium (ā`trēəm), term for an interior court in Roman domestic architecture and also for a type of entrance court in early Christian churches. The Roman atrium was an unroofed or partially roofed area with rooms opening from it. brings daylight to the heart of the plan and acts as a fulcrum fulcrum: see lever. for the internal spaces; spaces which, in the Modernist tradition, are treated as a continuum rather than as a series of cellular rooms. With the whole house conceived as a single volume, occupants can share each other's company, while not necessarily being in view, as voices carry through the double-height interior. Materially, the interior returns to the muted two-tone palette of the Hu-tong House. So, while the facades are somewhat over adorned a·dorn tr.v. a·dorned, a·dorn·ing, a·dorns 1. To lend beauty to: "the pale mimosas that adorned the favorite promenade" Ronald Firbank. 2. with at least six different surface treatments (from base to roof: concrete, timber, ceramic, glass, galbarium steel plate and render), internally more restraint exists with plaster walls and stone floors providing a quieter backdrop for the richness of the teak teak, tall deciduous tree (Tectona grandis) of the family Verbenaceae (verbena family), native to India and Malaysia but now widely cultivated in other tropical areas. screen wall and balcony. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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