SATOSHI OKADA
ARCHITECTS

The ground level of the site was originally three meters above the road, across from a towering apartment building dominating the surrounding area. The design was then modified to a fortified enclosure built of reinforced concrete to ensure privacy and protect the four vehicles within the property.

The house itself has three levels. The ground floor houses the garage, private entrance, gym, and storage space, all centralized by a courtyard leading to the main entrance upstairs. The two upper levels are dedicated to the residential spaces: the living room, dining room, kitchen, workshop, and the master bedroom face the courtyard through its glass walls, abounding with daylight and spaciousness. The surfaces of the walls employ two different finishes. The exposed board-form concrete - 50 mm horizontal stripes made possible by custom timber formwork - emulates the complexity of wooden construction. In contrast to this lower third, the smooth, beige plaster finish on the upper two-thirds to visually rescale the space for human proportion.

The courtyard emulates natural design through its elegant details. The central water feature displays streaming water into a basin made of conglomerate stone, further complemented by external steps made of polished concrete directed towards the stairs for the main entrance upstairs. The running water creates a microclimate ornamented with auditory tranquility in the austere urban patio.