design team: Koen Klinkers, Will Galloway

Like most new apartments in Tokyo this one began as a series of closed rooms, slightly paranoid and inward looking, absolutely functional; connected by a perfunctory hallway, ceilings shifting only to manage hvac equipment and structure.

Without changing the plan itself we were asked to create something like a new skin for the modest flat - to erase the generic spaces and create a home the owners could recognize as uniquely their own.

We started with a simple intent - namely to create a depth where non exists. In such a small space, with no direct connection to the outside world, we made use of of a formally dissolved form. The design is simple and reduced to a series of plywood sheets, layered and repeated both  horizontally and vertically to create movement within the space. The added planes make sense of abrupt changes in ceiling height left over from the original plan, turn a bleak door-lined hallway into a procession, and form a backdrop that emphasizes the singular view to the large park outside.

Hardware and mechanical systems are built into the wooden additions, while switches and other architectural features are used to form a simple design language. In the end we are left with a more contemplative atmosphere.