BALCONY HOUSE, a House with Platforms

While observing life in the district of Taito-ku, north-east of Tokyo, the firm Takeshi Hosaka Architects imagined what would a few months later become BALCONY HOUSE. ‘All the houses had balconies. They were a real place and a tool for communication with the city and neighbours,’ explains architect Takeshi Hosaka in the press release. ‘So I installed windows on all four sides of the house and put large and small balconies on the outside, but also on the inside of the windows, to make them into places for activities.’

Suspended islands

Thus, inside this 73 m2 space designed for a couple and their children, various living spaces were created in the form of small islands: a balcony serving as a platform for the parents’ bed, one for the children’s space, one for the spare room, another with a hammock, and one that serves as a utility room. There’s also a mini-balcony that acts as an access point to the terrace, situated at the top of the building. 

The distribution of the different platforms separates the spaces for each member of the family without losing the link between them, as none of the rooms is surrounded by four walls. The activities are spread over different levels, the ground floor being reserved for the bathroom and living/dining room, where all the family can get together.

It’s a rather large house, in contrast to the more minimalist projects worked on by Takeshi Hosaka’s firm, such as LOVE HOUSE and LOVE2 HOUSE. 

BALCONY HOUSE (2017), a project by Takeshi Hosaka Architects, is visible on their website.