Yokohama House, Japanese Property, Building Design Images

Daylight House, Japan : Yokohama Residence

Daylight House Japan design by Takeshi Hosaka Architects

22 Sep 2011

Daylight House

Design: Takeshi Hosaka Architects

This is a house in which residents live under natural lighting from the sky.

The site is five minutes walk from the railway station, and it is surrounded by a mixture of detached dwellings and 10-floor condominiums and office buildings. In this location nested in a valley between buildings, the light streaming down from the sky above felt precious. A couple with two children planned to build their home in this spot.

The building was structured by laying a basic grid (approx. 1500mmx1600mm) over the site, and using a the volume of a single high-ceilinged room with a bedroom, kids’ room and study partitioned off using fittings approximately half the height of the ceiling. The expanse of the entire ceiling can be felt from any room.

Light from 29 skylights (approx 700mm square) installed in the roof illuminate the room as soft light diffused through the curved acrylic ceiling plates. The direct light falling from the clear square skylights cuts a distorted square image on the curved acrylic ceiling. At the same time, the entire curved acrylic ceiling is uniformly lit with white light by selecting the distance between the skylights and the curved acrylic ceiling, their size, the color of the acrylic and the color of the interior panels after studying models and mockups to achieve the desired effect.

There is an air space between the acrylic surface and the roof, and forced air is used to eject air heated by the sun in summer out of the building, while movement of the air is stopped in winter to use the air layer as a thermal buffer to ensure the thermal environment indoors is stable.

Upon entering the building, there is so much light from the sky that it is hard to believe that the site is nested in a dark valley created by buildings. This house was named “Daylight House.” Daylight does not simply indicate light from the sun, but refers to the beautiful light throughout the day. The day begins with the rising sun, which then falls and sets, followed by the rising moon which gradually wanes until it is replaced by the rising sun the next day. The house provides a rich experience of the beauty of the light over 24 hours.

Daylight House – Building Information

Architect: Takeshi Hosaka
Structural Engineers: Hirofumi Ohno
Client: Keigo Nishimoto
Name of the project: Daylight House
Exact definition of the building: a couple and 2 chirdren (boy & girl)
Location of the project: Yokohama, Japan
Construction nature: wooden-structure
Site: 114.92 m2
Building area: 73.60 m2
Floor area ratio: 85.04 m2
Building height: 5.388 m
No. of floors: 2F
Building function: house

Planning data:
Design: Feb 2010 – Apr 2011
Planning start: Feb 2010
Beginning of construction: Sep 2010
Completion: Mar 2011

Photographs: Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Pertners Inc.

Takeshi Hosaka Architects are based in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Daylight House Japan images / information from Takeshi Hosaka Architects

Takeshi Hosaka Architects

Location: Yokohama, Japan, East Asia