Tato Architects . photos: © shinkenchiku_sha . + dezeen
“House and Office in Hofu” is a renovation project of a 40-year-old building. The steel-frame structured building was remodeled to include various spaces such as living, office, warehouse, shop and more. Continue reading Tato Architects
Tato Architects . photos: © Shinkenchiku Sha . + dezeen
When designing a house on a site with limited space, we have recently been exploring the possibilities of a continuous floor arrangement that extends gradually over a series of stepped floors. Rather than using walls and different floor levels to clearly divide the space into various functions, everything loosely connects and disconnects from each other through stepped floors. The idea is to create a sense of expansion inside a small house, so that you would find yourself on top of a rooftop in one moment, and tucked beneath a floor in another. Continue reading Tato Architects
Tato Architects . photos: © Shinkenchiku Sha . + archdaily
Many people, including Kazuo Shinohara and architects of my generation, have made houses that contain gardens, but to me the most impressive example was an acquaintance’s studio-cum-residence that I visited when I was in university. The floor of the house had simply been tamped down without using any hardening chemicals or special techniques. As grass grew up around the table legs, you could sprinkle your leftover tea on the ground. The design made it difficult to decide where the garden ended and the interior began. Since that experience, I have often thought about that I would like to create a relaxed space in which interior and exterior intermingle. Continue reading Tato Architects
Tato Architects . photos: © Shinkenchiku_sha
At this house – a residence designed for a family of four – it was requested that everyone in the family should be able to feel the presence of each other regardless of where they are in the house. The design is based on the fixed topography of the site at the top of a hill, and the expectation that there will not be any big changes to the quiet residential area of the surrounding in the future.
Continue reading Tato Architects
Tato Architects . photos: © Shinkenchiku Sha
Well-planned houses are sometimes too close to human lives. While they are comfortable, I feel that too much planning has the risk of forcing a pre-defined lifestyle onto the residents. Perhaps if we start the process from a point not too close to the client’s initial wishes, and seek an autonomous solution while considering various conditions, we will ultimately enable them to live more freely and actively.
Simply-angled, geometric spaces are one of the possible forms for the residents to pursue freedom and make full use of an autonomous space. Since we are familiar with spaces designed with right angles, it is easy to measure their spatial volumes and relationships. However, by slightly turning the corners where the walls intersect, our spatial awareness suddenly becomes complicated, and we feel as if the limited space has expanded. Continue reading Tato Architects
