Nakano House / Suzuko Yamada ArchitectsSave this picture! Kei SasakiHousesTokyo, JapanArchitects: Suzuko Yamada ArchitectsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:52 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Kei Sasaki, Naoki Takehisa Lead Architects: Suzuko Yamada More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. A small house for a couple and their two cats. The site was a small lot in a dense residential neighborhood, past a bustling urban shopping street. The clients' request was simple: "As long as there was an outer shell for living and space for the cats to run around, the rest could come together over time."Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!We began by creating an enclosed space over the full extent of the site. In the space measuring less than 26 square meters, we placed the necessary objects of living, such as a toilet, bath, and kitchen. With the addition of components that constitute the "outer shell" for living like two stairs, a cat walkway, handrails, and a bench, the space quickly filled up. From inside the house, it is impossible to have every object in view at once. These are massive in relation to the house itself; their scale is the same or sometimes even larger than the scale of the space. One sees only the blur of light and moist coolness on the rough surface of a concrete wall. It is unclear how far the wall continues or where it ends, appearing large and heavy. The house should belong to the inhabitant but seems to evade ownership, belonging to nobody, existing in place as if it were a mountain or the city itself.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Life takes place between the outlines of the objects. Cooking and eating, bathing and doing laundryeverything fills in the string of voids with clusters of household items. The family of objects appears to have looked for and found their places within the structure, as if settled in response to its form. Amongst and between them, the two cats slink about and wind from an open window weaves through, as light from outside swallows everything together. Both life and nature are in tension with the architecture. They exist together and sometimes connect, but never blend. The architecture triggers life and life strengthens the architecture. The goal was to create that kind of relationship in this house.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeMaterialConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on March 19, 2025Cite: "Nakano House / Suzuko Yamada Architects" 19 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027975/nakano-house-suzuko-yamada-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream