Azuma House
From Archiplanet
 | Azuma House |
| Designer | Tadao Ando |
| Location | Osaka, Japan |
| Date | 1976 |
| Building Type | row house, small house |
| Climate | semitropical |
| Context | dense urban |
| Architectural Style | Modern |
| Street Address | Sumiyoshi, Osaka |
| Notes | A very small house in a narrow slot site, with rooms at front and back connected by open-air bridge through courtyard. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Azuma_House.html |
Contents |
Images
Discussion
This one-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Osaka, Japan was built on a very narrow lot in a core urban rowhouse neighborhood. Its unassuming and slightly austere concrete form belies a carefully composed interior, emphasizing functionality and privacy.
Measuring a mere 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) wide and 42 feet (12.8 meters) long, this house provides about 700 square feet (65 square meters) of living space on a 615-square-foot (57-square-meter) lot.
Only the living room is connected to the public street, by way of an inset stoop. A central courtyard is at the heart of this house, buffering the other spaces from the outside world, while providing all with access to light and air. In addition to living room and courtyard, the ground floor contains all the service spaces (kitchen/ dining room and bathroom), which are clustered in the rear one-third of the house.
A narrow stair and bridge lead to the upstairs bedroom and study, which lie on either side of the courtyard.
Maps
Reference
ArchitectureWeek Classic Home 069
External Links
Images
Discussion
Commentary
In a dense, urban core of Osaka row-houses, Ando inserted a simple, narrow concrete rectangular residence. With spaces flanking an interior courtyard, there is an attempt to return the 'contact with light, air, rain, and other natural elements' to the Japanese life-style. "In addition to providing light and serving as the focal point of family life, this small court is a spatial entity that attempts to compensate for the reduced physical space." It attempts to reinstate a traditional model using a modern vocabulary.
—Darlene Levy. drawn from Kenneth Frampton, ed. Tadao Ando: Buildings Projects Writings. p26.
The Creator's Words
"In its simple but rich spatial composition, in its expression of enclosure, and in the way light gives character to daily-life spaces, this house encapsulates an image of my architecture."—Tadao Ando
—Tadao Ando. Tadao Ando, Buildings Projects Writings. New York: Rizzoli, 1984. p26.
Details
Site area: 57 sq meters
Building area: 34 sq meters
Total floor area: 65 sq meters
term of planning: 1/1975-8/1975
term of construction: 10/1975-2/1976
site area: 57.28 sq. meters
total floor area: 64.72 sq. meters
Maps
References
Francesco Dal Co, Ed. Tadao Ando : Complete Works. Phaidon/Chronicle Books, April 1998. ISBN 0-7148-3717-2. Available at Amazon.com
Kenneth Frampton, ed. Tadao Ando: buildings, projects and writings. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-8478-0547-6. NA1559.A5A4 1984. exterior photos, p26, 27. context photo, p27. interior photo, p27. section perspective, p28. axonometric drawing, p29. plan drawings, p28, 29.
Werner Blaser, ed. Tadao Ando: Sketches. Berlin: Birkhauser Verlag Basel, 1990. ISBN 0-8176-2327-2. NA2707.A53 A4 1990. p165.
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