G-Flat / architecture WORKSHOP

Architects: Koh Kitayama – architecture WORKSHOP
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Design Team: Koh Kitayama, Mariko Hama, Yurie Kobayashi, Hiroko Hasama, Toru Kudo
Project Year: 2006
Project Area: 2635.78 sqm
Photographs: Daici Ano

Structural walls have been installed in the center of each residential block, and these walls are arranged in alternating directions in adjacent residential buildings.

They are structurally unified by the connecting balconies, and so horizontal forces are directly taken by structural walls running in two directions. In this system, steel posts take vertical loads from the flat slabs, which are independent from the structural walls.

Due to this structural system, the perimeters of the residential blocks are completely free from the structure, and every residence has a spatial form like a detached house, comprising many surfaces that interface with the exterior.

The privacy and thermal conditions of the internal spaces are controllable due to the installation of a double line of operable fittings along the perimeter, like an engawa-style veranda.