How This Japanese Architect Makes Use of a Small Site in Tokyo

Daisuke Ibano, a Tokyo-based architect, desired a bright and spacious home for his family. Dissatisfied with their previous dark and cramped house, Daisuke collaborated with architects Ryosuke Fujii and Satoshi Numanoi to create a new residence that would provide a more comfortable living environment.

Due to the limited space of the tiny 45m2 site, they decided to forgo corridors and instead connected all the rooms in a spiral, allowing smooth movement between levels. With only a few doors throughout the home, privacy is had by generating a sense of distance between you and others, such as sitting on the staircase bench seat nook while everyone else is in the living area.

The family now enjoys an abundance of light-filled spaces with plenty of room for everyone.

English and Japanese subtitles are available.

Website article with photographs and the floor plan;

Japan trip supported by BowerBird

House in the City by Daisuke Ibano

In collaboration with
Ryosuke Fujii

Satoshi Numanoi

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Simple Dwelling

Produced by Simple Dwelling
Filmed and Edited by Simple Dwelling / Anthony Richardson

#HomeDesign #JapaneseHouse #InteriorDesign #HouseTour #HomeTour

[cynthiahawkins]

Huge respect for the Japanese: this is a nation that values space, makes the most wonderful, practical use OF it - and creates things out of tiny areas that are beautiful, well-ordered and almost..spiritual. I am a textile artist, living in New Orleans, and my pieces are all small, so I dearly love tha concept of miniature/limited/scaled down, etc...

[-IrisTsui]

I appreciate the successful attempt to capture how the space would actually look under natural lighting conditions--shadows and all. I imagine it can be difficult to capture the feel of a space without giving into the temptation of excessive illumination.

[metislamestiza]

i LOVE the little nook with the whale pillow that has a library beside it. perfect for cozy time reading to their children. the shower is beautiful . they did their best with the physical circumstances presented - love it!

[ingap.]

I wish I could see more of this house.

[deborahmac]

There is so much to be considered in this home. Very thoughtful design.

[lynda.grace.]

Reading the 1933 essay "In Praise of Shadows" by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki (Eng. trans. Edward Seidensticker or Gregory Starr) might help viewers not familiar with Japanese aesthetics who find the home too dark to appreciate the difference in approach to interior spaces. Need for privacy, too, is viewed differently in Japan. It's very likely that a family will pass the entire winter together sharing the kotasu (a table with a heater) and not in "their own rooms" as they likely would in some other cultures.

[arlenehutchinson]

Light is everything ✨
The architect was a meistro the borrowed light was perfect. The description of letting your natural desire for light move you through the home INSPIRED 🙌🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 RESPECT

[orlandob]

I think we like the japanese homw tours because theres so much problem solving and great execution of ideas.

[Ricangelo]

I love how rich the textures of all the surfaces are and how the dim lighting enhances them even more. Also love how haphazardly the arrangement of the wall arts are placed. So poetically shows the life utilises the spaces.

[katsee]

This is beautiful! Love the colors and the dark furniture. And that shower is awesome!

[jori]

I quite love the feel of this home. Amazing how much seclusion, or privacy, it seems to allow for each family member. Looks like many small, intimate spaces can be experienced throughout the home. This is what I appreciate about it.

[susantuyau]

I think the use of space is really clever but I still find the home really dark. Perhaps it was a gloomy day when filming. But I also think a much lighter colour on the rendered walls and ceiling would have added so much more cheer to the space.

[AliceswanUs]

Beautiful and very well-designed. Love the bookshelves by the staircase and the benches by the window and upstairs. I would read there all day.

[andreaandrea]

Thank you! This is a BEAUTIFUL house! And the use of space is so clever!! Thank you for sharing with us!

[sassafrasdent]

I really enjoyed this tour and there were some lovely little areas to see when travelling through the house. The small garden outside the children’s room was a nice touch as was the rooftop.

[isawei]

This is very beautiful, thank you for sharing!

[annepoitrineau]

Beautiful house, full of warmth. The people living in it will feel good.

[abn]

So interesting. Thoughtful use of vertical space is intriguing. Well done.

[Solidarity]

I like the spiral approach to the space problem, two-steps between spaces, no corridors. Doors even though they would add privacy, would affect the flow. Flow through this building is more important. The kitchen-dining-living line of sight, making the stairs less steep, all considerate decisions.

[bernadettebianca]

Love the spiral flow, it's not boring.. many place to sit and relax. the bookshelves neatly lined up in the staircase.. guess the homeowner really likes to read.. love how it only 5 minutes video, but all the necessary information already there! :D