House in Wakabadai

Situated on a tiny 66 sq. meters lot, this small family home was designed by Japanese Satoshi Okada Architects for a young couple, who requested ‘a house that is attractive and cool’. The outer shape of the building was adjusted in terms of scale in relation to the surroundings, by tilting and trimming volumes and surfaces.
Most of the ground area of the compact 116 sq. meters space was turned into an open area to offer better visual clearance and ventilation, as well as a sheltered parking space for the owner’s two cars.

Located at the end of a blind alley far back from the main street, the house is bordered by a river, a two-storied private house, a two-storied apartment building and a small crop field. In an attempt to ease the crowded density of the adjacent buildings, walls that may get in the way of the view were tilted inward, and from the first floor up external walls were arranged so that the distance between the two buildings gradually increases upward.


The house is a wooden structure mostly made of 2×4 members and laminated panels, based on three structural elements that lift up the double-layered living section. The largest element is the core housing the staircase, storage, washing place for the dog, and lavatory. The other two elements house utility pipes and wires, thinning gradually toward the ground.

Exterior walls were covered with 5mm slit boards of rustproof steel sheet 1 mm thick, placed at a distance of 5mm from the base steel plates to create heat-insulating air space in between, in order to provide comfortable interior environment during summer seasons.

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