A unique compact dwelling in Okazaki

The Montblanc House has been designed by Studio Velocity and is situated in the quite residential neighborhood of Okazaki, Japan. The home has been designed with a small beauty shop on the first floor and a home for a young family of four on the upper level. The site is confined by neighboring houses and apartments so the architect was challenged with designing a home with an open space within a tightly enclosed site. The building has a large inclined roof with continuous exterior spaces from all three levels. Five large openings in the roof bring in plenty of natural light and air, as well as scenery.

Here is a project description from the architect, “the windows, as “voids,” lacking sashes, have a totally different scale from the windows of the neighboring houses. That’s why there is a wondrous scale around the area as if the model had been enlarged.  One encounters “outside” at various points as you walk upstairs since the semi-exterior spaces are connected and gently covered with a large luminous roof. I hope to create a diversity of “exteriors” with the various angles and heights of the site, appropriately hiding away the views from the neighboring sites, as well as a sense of the neighboring houses’ existence.”

Visit the website of Studio Velocity here.

Photos: Kentaro Kurihara

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