Yokohama Aoba Housing by Shin Takamatsu and Kei Tamai is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Silver A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Competition Category.
SilverArchitecture· 2025
Yokohama Aoba Housing
by Shin Takamatsu and Kei Tamai
Client: Sky Mission
Silver A' Design Award Winner in Architecture Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #164197The Design
About Yokohama Aoba Housing
Yokohama Aoba is a house designed to bring nature back into urban living. The home stands on a pentagonal plot and is arranged around a central courtyard that connects all rooms and opens the interior to the sky. Two stairways begin at the entrance, and the rooms fan out around the courtyard, while a narrow passage links the wings at the rear. The circulation forms a continuous double loop, so each room has its own route and residents can move without crossing paths. Natural light and air flow through the house, reducing energy use.
The Recognition
About the Silver A' Design Award
Yokohama Aoba Housing is a Silver A' Design Award winner, an extraordinarily prestigious recognition granted to top-of-the-line, gorgeous, and impressive designs. Silver winners are tremendously brilliant and exceedingly creative works that illustrate the outstanding expertise, talent, and acuity of their designers. Yokohama Aoba Housing is expected to be a wonderful, showpiece work that is remarkably professional and profoundly innovative. This Silver A' Design Award-winning design is a highly notable, admired invention that benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Yokohama Aoba Housing is a vastly envied creation that evokes desires, introduces positive feelings, and sparks amazement and wonderment.
Where to Get It
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We create exceptional homes that reconnect urban living with nature through innovative architectural design. Our award-winning residences feature central courtyards, abundant natural light, and flexible living spaces that adapt to your family's evolving needs while maintaining privacy in dense neighborhoods.
Learn MoreBehind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- This project creates a home that integrates nature into urban living. Designed by renowned architect Shin Takamatsu, the focus is on living harmoniously with the sky. The pentagonal plot features a central courtyard that connects all rooms, allowing residents to feel linked to the sky. A "double Möbius strip" design, with a staircase and hallway, creates a loop, offering flexibility for family activities. This design supports diverse scenarios, adapting to the changing needs of the residents.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Site area：204.05㎡ Building area：90.56㎡ Total floor area：163.77㎡
- Tags
- housing,japan,modern,architecture,Tokyo
- Production Technology
- Upon entering the house, two stairways immediately start, with rooms fanning out around the central courtyard. A narrow passage connects the wings at the back. Most rooms face the courtyard, allowing the sky to fill every corner. The double Möbius strip circulation and courtyard create various pathways, fostering family connections and making the space feel larger. Each room has its own path, ensuring safety during pandemics. The wings are angled at 40 degrees, enhancing the sense of space.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 2017, ""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
- The house offers various living styles, such as centering life around the courtyard or integrating all rooms into one large space. The double Möbius strip circulation path allows for endless movement, adapting to different family activities and enriching life. Each room has its own path, so family members can live without crossing paths, especially helpful during pandemics. Natural light and air flow through the home, reducing energy dependence and making urban living more comfortable.
- Team Members
- designer:Shin Takamatsu
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