Yo Yamagata Architects

A residential complex like the bleachers of a theater where one can live with a view of a green space."

The site is located on the outskirts of Station Sagamihara, and to the south is a green area with a 50m x 60m city block that is a natural forest as it is. It was a strange sight, as if the virgin forest that once spread around this area had been left untouched. Tall trees of about 15 to 20 meters in height stand in the forest at a moderate distance from each other, and the undergrowth is neatly groomed, as if it were a green space in a satoyama. Although the area is surrounded by a fence, there is an entrance and exit, and some people were walking their dogs inside. It does not look like a park, but it seems to be open to visitors. According to the city office, this green space is owned by a private individual, but its management is entrusted to the city, and it is open to the neighborhood residents. We were required to build a rental housing complex next to such a green space with a mysterious presence.

Unlike in the heart of Tokyo, rental housing complexes built in areas with relatively low land prices, such as the suburbs of Sagamihara, are required only to reduce construction costs and increase the rentable area in order to increase profitability, making it difficult to create high-quality rental housing that can become social capital. Fortunately, the client had high aspirations and wanted to create a model case for rental housing that is both high quality and commercially viable by adding value to the architectural space and differentiating it from others.

All units face the green space on the south side of the building in order to maximize the use of the adjacent green space.

All units have a view of a 60-meter deep green space that looks like a villa.

While the plan configuration is quite simple and orthodox, the cross-sectional structure is a bit more complex. Within the volume of the legally determined height, three types of dwellings with different cross-sections are stacked vertically in a puzzle-like manner. The bottom floor is a maisonette type with a basement floor and a first floor, the top floor is a skip-floor type with a loft, and in between is a flat type with an expansive plan. Each unit offers various views of the adjacent greenery. The name of the building is "BALCONE" because it resembles the relationship between the stage and the bleachers of a theater. The company decided to use the name "Toyama" in the name of the city. It is an apartment complex that serves as a viewing platform for the attractive green space on the stage.