We are delighted that our home has been featured in the July 2008 edition of Japanese Oggi Magazine.

Labels: Press

Young professionals in Tokyo typically live in micro flats that are cramped and inflexible. We designed this flat in order to maximise the possibilities of such a typical Tokyo apartment. The important considerations are privacy (separation of sleeping space for instance) and openness (a room large enough to entertain a small party of friends without exposing clutter). A typical scenario is that a bachelor lives in the flat and then gets married. The apartment must transform to support their coexistence in such a small space.

The solution is in the furniture. There are two units that pivot off the walls. They are mobilized by wheels attached to one end. These function not only as furniture but also dividing partition. The necessary furniture to support living in the flat (a table, bed, wardrobes, etc) fold out of these mobile units. Their arrangement and orientation cleverly solves the problems presented when certain functions do not match (dining vs. sleeping for instance). One unit is the dining/working unit, whilst the other is bedroom unit.

As nearly all fittings are within these containers, they can be prefabricated off site and brought into an existing apartment shell. This means that they can be delivered very economically and built to an extremely high standard. White vs. red lacquer-like finishes create a visual demarcation between interior and exterior surfaces of the units. Colours can of course be customized.

Within the garden is a pool of water. At one end there is a shelter.
A downpour! We run for cover.
Rain Patters upon the roof above.
We sit and watch droplets upon the water
Suddenly the roof empties and a flat stream falls before us, cascading into the pool.
Then there is a ‘CRACK’ as the roof regains its balance.
Silence again.
We sit and reflect upon the diminishing waves ebbing back and forth across the pool.
Rain is a unique event – periodically announced by the movement of shelter.
A space to experience the power of rain.

We wished to situate a restaurant upon a tranquil sea, yet there would hardly be any need or feasibility in floating it upon the ocean. Instead, we asked where is such a sea of tranquillity most needed? Where human’s lives are most chaotic and where one is most removed from nature. Roppongi, in the heart of Tokyo, with its overwhelming density may seem the farthest point from an escape to natural serenity. But this is precisely why we chose to site our building there, or more specifically, far above it.

We chose the roof of the new Tokyo Midtown Development, designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, as the ideal location for our Restaurant on the Water. Roofs are designed to be waterproof. Therefore, we did not think it unreasonable to propose covering the entire roof with a shallow layer of water. As the Midtown Development is to be Tokyo’s tallest building, it will be the only location to site the restaurant where no other structure is visible. The effect of the water and sky converging with no apparent interruption is deeply meditative. It presents an unlimited spatial expanse. The citizens of Tokyo will have a place to escape from the city within the city and to detach their thoughts and interactions from its artificial complexity. The only object visible from that point is Mt. Fuji.

The most important criterion of our design is that the view out is given absolute precedent. The most secluded areas are within the　ozashiki . In order to feel absolute solitude, diners within these translucent glass chambers should not be able to see into any other area of the restaurant. Here, architecture is little more that a frame for the ever changing view. Vertical walls are tilted and skewed to energize the tension between them and the perfect horizontality of water and sky touching. This also gives complete variety to the interiors of the ozashiki and visiting each one will offer a unique experience. Floors and tables are aligned with the surface of the water so as to achieve continuity between interior and exterior and to make diners feel as though they are actually upon the water.

More info can be found here

Aacacia Arboricola Synthetica is a project Al designed with his AA Diploma tutor, Peter Thomas' office, 51pct. The project is to be featured in the upcoming book, Analogies: Vegetal Architecture for Parram Publishers.

Its a synthetic tree situated in the African Savanah. The fractal branching pattern was tuned to mimic an Acacia Tree, thus blending into the landscape and not scaring the wildlife off. The treehouse would provide alternative accomodation for 21st century safarists to observe wildlife from above as they come to sip from the adjacent watering hole.

Mesh trampolines span between the sets of 6 branches to form the floor network vertically connected by rope ladders. Opaque PTFE clads the canopy to form a series of tent-like sleeping capsules in the tree top. The structure's integrity is mostly derived from the tensile restraint of the fabric and mesh.

Welcome to the weblog of Alastair Townsend and Kayoko Ohtsuki.