Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo by Akira Koyama

Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo by Akira Koyama is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Pronssipalkinto A' Design Award in Arkkitehtuuri-, rakennus- ja rakennesuunnittelu Competition Category.

PronssiArkkitehtuuri· 2021

Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo

by Akira Koyama

Client: Key Operation Inc.

Pronssipalkinto A' Design Award Winner in Arkkitehtuuri Category

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The Design

About Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo

Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids on viisikerroksinen, 14 asunnon kerrostalokompleksi Tokiossa. Rakennus sijaitsee syvällä tontilla, jonka katujulkisivu on kapea: tontti on 17 metriä syvä ja 8 metriä leveä. Kummankin rakennusosan neljä kulmaa on lovettu, jolloin syntyy kuusi pystysuuntaista aukkoa, jotka tuovat päivänvaloa asuntoihin. Kompleksi muodostuu kahdesta rakennusosasta, etu- ja takaosasta, joita erottavat avoimet käytävät ja kaikkiin kerroksiin johtavat portaat. Käytävät yhdistävät kuusi aukkoa ja toimivat luonnollisen ilmanvaihdon reitteinä. Katujulkisivu on kantava seinä, jonka vesisuihkulla karhennettu pinta suojaa asukkaiden yksityisyyttä.

The Recognition

About the Pronssipalkinto A' Design Award

Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo on Pronssipalkinnon A' Design Award -voittaja, erittäin arvostettu tunnustus, joka myönnetään erinomaisille designeille, joita luonnehtivat luovuus, nerokkuus ja oveluus. Pronssivoittajat ovat runsaan taitavia ja silmiinpistävän luovia taiteellisia tuotoksia, jotka todistavat suunnittelijoidensa laajaa kokemusta, mielikuvitusta ja kekseliäisyyttä. Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo:n odotetaan olevan korkeassa arvossa pidetty, ihailtu ja rakastettu esine, joka on huomattavan ammattimainen ja innovatiivinen. Tämä Pronssipalkinnon A' Design Award -voittajadesign sisällyttää itseensä parhaita käytäntöjä taiteessa, tieteessä, designissa ja teknologiassa ja on erinomainen huomiollaan yksityiskohtiin. Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Asuinkerrostalo tyydyttää upeasti tarpeita, koskettaa haluja, viehättää tunteita ja vetoaa uteliaisuuteen.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: A five-storey apartment complex of 14 units was developed for a parcel along a small local commercial avenue in Tokyo. To develop a parcel relatively deep with tight frontage in central Tokyo, the main theme for drawing the plan focused on supply of daylight and airflow throughout, while retaining density and thus enhancing rents. In this regard, a void to meet the local ordinance requirement of an evacuation route and additional voids were established.
Dimensions & Packaging: The site is a deep parcel with tight frontage, it measures 17 m to the back, 8 m in width. Site area is 155.07m2, Building area is 113.17m2, and Total floor area is 527.68m2. The building consequently comprises two volumes, front and rear, separated by open corridors installed with stairs ascending to all floors for access to the flats.
Tags: Apartment, Window, Voids, Post Coronavirus, Rental Complex, Pet, Cat Owners
Production Technology: Extruded cement panels are used for the wall rising above the outdoor passage in order to reduce the load. The street façade also rises four storeys as structural wall with a water-jet chipped finish. This distinctive expression faces the street and provides robust privacy for sleeping quarters behind the wall. The windows of the street-side voids are effectively set back, while the wall roughened by water jet draws passers’-by attention to enhance window privacy.
Design Challenge: The building code in Japan establishes standards for the specific planar area of openings with respect to the floor space of a room. For residential complexes, the area for openings must be at least 1/7 of the floor space of each room. In relation to the area of a window opening, the distance from the window to adjacent building and the height from the top of the building have a large impact on the calculated effective opening area.
Research: The number of pet cats in Japan is nearing 10 million in 2020. Lifestyle changes brought upon by Covid-19 have increased the desire for comfort from pets.
Important themes based on our Covid-19 experience prompt us to consider inclusion of outdoor space. This flat complex establishes voids for a deep parcel with poor air passage to the back in order to secure natural ventilation.
Inspiration: The four corners of each volume are notched to establish six vertical voids that bring light down into each unit for a heartening indoor environment. For a plan such as this, surrounded by buildings on neighbouring property all around, the lower floors for the new building are often unable to secure effective openings to draw sufficient daylight. The notched corners of each volume establish voids in front of neighbouring property and enable window openings facing the voids to provide effective daylight access that meets building code.
Project Duration: The project is located in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The project was started in July 2019, and finished in July 2020.
Operation Flow: A typical studio flat plots the kitchen space and unitized bathroom that require plumbing to the left and right of a central corridor opening up into a bedroom in the back. The studio flats in this complex, however, arrange their bath area towards the core of their volume and corridor along an exterior wall. The respective corridors internally connect the six voids as thoroughfares of natural ventilation.
Team Members: Architect: Akira Koyama + KEY OPERATION INC./ARCHITECTS
Planning & development: ASCOT CORP.
Structure Engineer: Delta Structural Consultants
Service Engineer: Comodo
Contractor: Nakajima Kenko
Image Credits: All Images: Yoshifumi Moriya / Nacasa & Partners Inc.
Video: Akira Koyama / Key Operation Inc.