Gold Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2025
Yokohama Chigasakihigashi Housing
by Kei Tamai
- A' Design Award 2025 Gold Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Skymission
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 107,538
- Verification code 46DB0FCF4E · Verify this award
About Yokohama Chigasakihigashi Housing
Yokohama Chigasakihigashi is a detached house designed to connect daily life with the sky. Rooms and hallways surround a central courtyard, called a sky room, framed by simple white spaces. The flexible layout allows the courtyard to act as the focal point or to merge with the surrounding rooms, supporting several ways of living. Windows bring soft natural light inside, reducing the need for artificial lighting. The total floor area is 129.17 square meters. The design revives the traditional Japanese connection with nature.
Kei Tamai's Yokohama Chigasakihigashi Housing emerges from contemporary architectural discourse as a meditation on the expressive possibilities of the archetypal gabled dwelling form, multiplied and arranged into a composition of striking sculptural presence that simultaneously honors vernacular housing traditions while advancing them into fresh formal territory. The design demonstrates remarkable restraint in its material palette, employing a single cladding system of horizontal panels in deep charcoal that unifies the complex volumetric arrangement into cohesive whole while the consistent banding creates subtle textural interest that modulates across the varying angular planes of each gabled element. This work appears to engage thoughtfully with the phenomenology of dwelling, wherein the sharp ascending forms might suggest aspiration and shelter in equal measure, their steep pitches shedding weather while reaching skyward with almost spiritual verticality. The strategic placement of apertures reveals sophisticated consideration of interior light quality and exterior nighttime expression, with warm illumination emerging from precisely positioned openings that transform the building into a lantern-like presence during evening hours. The blue entry door provides a moment of chromatic punctuation that invites approach while acknowledging the threshold as a meaningful transitional space between public realm and private sanctuary. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless integration of multiple roof forms whose intersecting geometries required considerable skill in both design resolution and construction execution, with crisp edges and clean junctions throughout suggesting meticulous attention to craft. The composition captured during twilight reveals the design's full atmospheric potential, when the dialogue between fading natural light and emerging interior warmth creates a portrait of the dwelling as both protective shelter and welcoming beacon. Viewers might contemplate how the repetition of the familiar gabled form, when multiplied and arranged with such deliberate variation, can yield fresh architectural meaning while maintaining connection to enduring traditions of domestic building.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This spec home focuses on living in harmony with the sky, designed by renowned architect Shin Takamatsu, an expert in traditional Japanese housing. Takamatsu believes that a home must have a deep relationship with the sky. The design includes a room extending toward the sky, surrounded by simple white spaces. This flexible layout allows the sky room to be the focal point or to blend with the surrounding spaces, offering various living styles that connect with the sky.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Site area：165.01㎡ Building area：70.71㎡ Total floor area：129.17㎡
- Tags
- housing,japan,modern,architecture,Yokohama
- Production Technology
- Rooms and hallways surround a courtyard, seen as a "sky room." Residents can enjoy different lifestyles, such as centering their lives around the courtyard or combining the courtyard and surrounding spaces into one. A simple glance upward from any space reveals the sky. The courtyard connects seamlessly with the rooms, and the windows create soft natural light without needing artificial lighting. The skyline encourages passersby to look up and experience the sky as well.
- Design Challenge
- In the suburbs of major cities, small-scale developments for mass markets dominate, leading to declining living environments. Our company resists this trend by maintaining developments at their current scale to preserve quality. For properties priced over 100 million yen, delivering value is crucial, and working with renowned architects is one approach. While spec homes make achieving ideal designs easier, strict budget constraints create constant challenges between cost and design.
- Project Duration
- The collaboration between architect Shin Takamatsu and Principal Home began in 2014. We discussed the direction of the project for over a year and a half, and entered the design phase in 2015.
In 2016, "AROUND THE SKY" was completed and received the Good Design Award. Later, in 2017, "WITH THE SKY" was finished, followed by the construction of "ALONG THE SKY." This year, the construction of two "IN THE SKY" buildings has also been completed. - Operation Flow
- Residents can move freely between the courtyard and surrounding spaces, enjoying different living styles, such as centering life around the "sky room" or combining the courtyard with surrounding areas. From any spot, a glance upward reveals the sky. Natural light and air create a comfortable environment without relying on energy. The changing scenery, bird songs, and clouds further enrich the emotional experience of the residents, deepening their connection to nature.
- Research
- Traditional Japanese homes, like Kyoto's machiya, were designed to bring natural elements such as light and air into daily life, even in densely built cities. These homes had a garden at their center, creating comfort, respect for nature, and a unique aesthetic. Modern homes, however, prioritize performance and have become isolated from nature, heavily relying on energy. Now is the time to revive the traditional Japanese lifestyle, reducing energy use and reconnecting with nature.
- Inspiration
- In the suburbs of major cities, cramped living with close neighbors is unavoidable. Modern homes prioritize energy efficiency, insulation, and privacy, resulting in inward living spaces where people often keep curtains shut to avoid outside views. Traditionally, Japanese homes embraced nature, harmonizing with the climate and reflecting a deep connection to the environment. This project aims to restore those lost values and reconnect modern living with nature.
- Image Credits
- Copyright、Principal Home Co., Ltd.、2024