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White Blue Black Tokyo

Contemporary Residential Development in Japan – design by Future-scape Architecture

17 Apr 2010

White Blue Black

Tokyo, Japan

Design: Daigo Ishii + Future-scape Architects

The house locates in the high density’s area in Tokyo. The exterior form with a staircase pattern was decided by the severe height limit by the building standards law.

In this house, the client had many books.

Planning the house, the rule was established at first. The rule was as follows: the structure of the house was painted in white, the supporting elements in black and the bookshelves in blue. The supporting elements were bay window, staircase, handrail, small eaves for rain and etc.

Blue was chosen as the color that did not conform to the existence of books and erased the gravity of the books. While, white and black was coordinates of the color.

In each space, the rule decided the finish of the interior automatically without strong relation with the space or function. So, the accidental combination of the three colors and the unexpected space appeared. It contributes to block the banalization generated by the invasion of many life things.

In a usual house, the bookshelves are put in closed stack room or on the wall surrounding the room. In this house, the bookshelf space is used as passages for connecting the other spaces. The folding doors divide spaces. If opened, all rooms and bookshelf spaces are joined as one continuous space. When closed, the bookshelf spaces become buffer zone and each room gets independence.

The bookshelf space also is a vertical passage for the natural light and wind. Through the FRP grating floor, the natural light from the top light window arrives until the lower floor. On the contrary, the wind elevates from the first floor to the high side window of second floor for exhausting the heat and the humidity.

White Blue Black – Building Information

Architect: Daigo Ishii + Future-scape Architects
Collaborator: structure engineer : Motoaki Sano (Sano Structrue Design Office)
Cooperation: Hiroyuki Kato
Furniture designer: Daigo Ishii + Future-scape Architects
Location: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
Client: parents and children
Use: house
Total area: site area : 137.95 m2, building area : 68.87 m2 total floor area: 130.32 m2
Completion date: Feb 1997
Structure: reinforced concrete

Exterior finish reinforced concrete painted by acrylic emulsion paint outdoor type
Interior finish – floor: cherry flooring, plastic flooring, mortar mixed with Chinese ink
Wall: vinyl cross, Japanese linden plywood painted by oil stain and clear lacquer
Ceiling: reinforced concrete painted by acrylic emulsion paint

Photos : White Blue Black

Photos by Future-scape Architecture

White Blue Black Tokyo images / information from Daigo Ishii + Future-scape Architects

Location: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan