Tokyo: The Latest Architecture and News

Do you think you could live in a house no bigger than a parking space? And not just by yourself, do you think you could live there with your mother? Apparently, Fuyuhito Moriya can. Check the video from CNN and tell us what you think.

Cheungvogl shared with us one of their latest projects, Shinjuku Gardens, in Tokyo, Japan. See more images and architect’s description after the break.

The next world congress of the International Union of Architects will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from 25 to 29 September 2011. The academic program covers research papers and design works, realized or planned, on the overall congress theme: DESIGN 2050. This theme is the opportunity for designers to express and present their visions of architecture and ideal cities and to imagine the tendencies of urban architecture prefiguring the world in 2050.

Cheungvogl, a young international architectural practice based in Hong Kong (see previous projects by Cheungvogl featured on AD here), designed two residences in Tokyo on a private development. House 2a is to be occupied by the client, a Japanese-German couple, based in Tokyo while House 2b is for sale. The client’s required that the design be, “Calm, but not sterile. Humble, and yet unexpected. Economical, nothing extravagant. Open space with flexible floor plans and a space to contemplate.” Working with these ideas in mind, Cheungvogl created related residences that also become separate enities.

More about the residences and more images after the break.

Wai Think Tank have shared with us their proposal for the Fashion Museum Competition in Omotesando Street in Tokyo, Japan. The challenge consisted in designing a 100 meters high tower-museum, containing exhibition areas of 20th century fashion history and becoming a landmark for Tokyo.

See more images and architect’s description after the break.

Our friends from Abitare shared this cool noodle shop designed by ISSHO Architects with us. Located in central Tokyo, the ‘soba’ noodle shop has Machiya-style wooden louvers, invoking a traditional Japanese townhouse. The varying depth of each louver creates a textured sensation across the facade. Regionally different patterns of light spill through the façade from the interior, allowing a gradual change of character at dawn, especially as viewed from the main street. The facade aesthetic is modified on the interior’s ceiling as white curved panels contrast the concrete and wood dinning areas to soften the space. A minimalistic residential apartment for the owner sits above the noodle shop.

More images after the break.

Here’s a kind of project we don’t frequently see a lot of…a public bathroom facility. Shuichiro Yoshida, a Tokyo based architect, designed lavatories housed on less than 9m2 of ground space in Chikusei City. The site is a historic storage building, (one of the few still standing after the WWII), and a volunteer group obtained the ownership of the building to use as their activity base for “discovering the region-specific historical and cultural heritages.” Yoshia was asked to add lavatories for visitors and staff (as there are none within the building). Faced with such a small area of land to provide facilities for both men and women, the bathrooms are, in fact, an elegant addition to the main building. Due to the small footprint, the bathrooms maintain an open feeling because they are open to a high ceiling with exposed timber supports. The lavatories are seen as a way to not only preserve the region-specific landscape but also to create new landscape for the future. The exterior is clad in elastic plasterer finish while the interior walls are finished in a white material known as “Shikkui” which has humid conditioning and fire prevention.

More images after the break.