Azabu Flat


120 m2 renovation, Azabu, Tokyo
Christopher Sjoberg, Koen Klinkers, Will Galloway
Photographs Toshiyuki Yano

The essence of the Japanese market for collective housing is to make as many rooms as possible, sub-dividing already limited space until every family member will have their own private place. A minimum amount of privacy is obtained by sacrificing communal life. Even more space is lost to long connecting hallways.

Here these issues are answered by removal of all dividing walls, forming a single-family room and a large shared bedroom that can be subdivided by over-sized mobile wardrobes. The hallway that connects the spaces is itself a part of communal life, acting as a shared sink area next to the bath.