The House of the light void is built within the area of 85 sq. m, in japan. To understand the context, it’s surrounded by residential streets on three sides leading to the continuous hustle and chaos the entire day. Considering this, clients demanded a design where a house looks cut off from the chaos of the surrounding.
To cater to the client’s needs FujiwaraMuro architects designed an abode that draws light from and top (through skylights) and has nearly no windows. Such privacy issues with fewer walls along the streets are quite common in densely populated streets of Japan.
The architect tried to bring in light and ventilation using 2 walls with the inner walls having openings. Skylights were strategically positioned over vertical volumes in the center of the house with the support of 4 columns on the corner with a cement plaster finish.
The center and four corners of the building are taken up by five boxes that resemble towers and are covered in cement plaster. These towers have openings in their higher sections that let light in. The first-floor living, dining, and kitchen room is located between the towers and has a 4.5-meter-high ceiling. One may see slivers of the sky when looking up, which are framed by the apertures on the towers’ tops. Sunlight reflects off the walls and fills the living space with warm light.
The façade is clad with a white panel having an entrance from the north. The circulation within the house has a volumetric feel where the upper floor is accessed through a ladder from the ground floor. A set of stairs leads to a bathroom that is linear in shape and has a tub, a shower, and a toilet at either end. Doors go out onto a balcony that occupies the remaining space on this level and is surrounded by high outer walls on all sides. The second level leaves gaps around the center volume to create partially double-height areas as it wraps around the interior perimeter of the rectangular structure.
Spaces within these boxes make up small enclosed bedrooms which are in contrast to the nature of living and dining spaces. Such circulation and spatial organization end up creating many undefined small pockets within ambient light and ventilation.
All three bedrooms are finished with cement plaster with sliding glass panels helping the light to penetrate deep within the house.
The bathroom has two tiny glazed windows on the second level for additional light, and the balcony has a view of the neighborhood thanks to a second open window along the opposite façade. Some of the studio’s most distinctive homes include a structure with enormous vertical louvers on the front and domicile that is just 2.5 meters wide.
Source:
FujiwaraMuro Architects (2020). House of light void. [online]. Available at: https://aplanjp.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc [Accessed 20 September 2022].
