Motoyasu Muramatsu Architects

Multi-layered spatial experience

In designing this house, I obtained a copy of the resident's book, Narrative Polyphony (Jun Hasegawa, Torikagesha, 2013).
The book is a study of Alfredo Döblin.'s novel Hamlet (1970, Chikuma Shobo).
It suggests the possibility of transcending the limits of conventional interpretation and capturing the richness of meaning and creativity of the work by listening to a polyphonic "narration" that includes all the characters, rather than reading (or listening to) the story as a one-way "narration" by the narrator.
The cover painting is "Four Rooms" by Wilhelm Hammershøi.
A series of dimly lit rooms behind an open door are depicted in muted tones, and the light shining into the rooms gives a slight sense of shifting time. Between the place where we are now and the landscape beyond, we can feel the depth and change of time flowing through it. I felt that the richness of 'listening' to the 'polyphonic narrative' of the story was the same as the richness of the architectural spatial experience.

The site, located on high ground on a ridge in the Nishimagome area, has a flagpole shape, with a 2m wide by 10m deep approach descending slightly to the east from the public road on the west side, with the neighbouring land on the east side of the trapezoidal shaped site approximately 5.5m below. Planning began with a view to the distance over the roof of the neighbouring property and to make the most of the openness of the environment on the approach look-back.

The building has an L-shaped plan with a two-storey, ceiling-high living room in the centre.
The living room overlooks the garden to the west and views to the east, while the dining room, with its low ceiling height, overlooks the room at an angle to the south-east.

From here, the view to the east can be seen. Ascending a staircase in the atrium, the view, which had been narrowed by the impulse barriers, is opened up and a glimpse of the dining room can be seen beyond the stairwell looking down.

The gently sloping ceiling leads you down a corridor, where you can feel the treetops swaying in the wind outside the horizontal row of windows, to the study. Looking up from your desk, you see the view cut out of the window.

Outside, each area has its own character, with small Corten steel gates, an approach with white and yellow flowers, rose aisles, a porch with glass eaves, a garden on the west side with evergreen and deciduous trees, and a hedge of shrubs and red flowers on the east side, all of which relate to the interior of the building in various ways.

Inside and outside, you can feel the changing seasons and the daily movement of the sun, shift, stand and ponder.
Waking up, eating and conversing. The multilayered spatial experiences gained from the casual activities of daily life are read polyphonically by the residents and visitors, fostered in their minds, and sublimated into deep memories and rich experiences.

Building Specifications
Principal Use: Detached House
Site Area: 169.13m²
Building Footprint: 80.62m²
Total Floor Area: 119.82m²
Storeys: Two storeys above ground
Structure: Timber Frame (Conventional Construction Method)