Slotted in: A Life with large opening, Tokyo by ON Design + Partners.

Living in half a gap between two Tokyo houses does not sound promising. But it all depends on the imagination with which the house has been designed. ON Design + Partners have imagined this house to provide a complete home. It even has the all important Japanese courtyard. It hardly seems possible. Poetically titled: A Life with large opening, the house is arranged in three slivers with a deep plan. Accommodation is positioned to either side of the central slot which is partly glazed. The central slot is painted white and provides natural light and air to the rooms as well as privacy. There is only one small, high-level widow that looks directly on to the street. Bridges across the void serve as balconies and circulation between the two accommodation slivers. Internally, the accommodation works a series of single function spaces. The bathroom for example is the width of the bath, the bedroom the width of the double bed. In fact I would speculatively suggest that the “width of the function” has dictated the organisational strategy. It is a very inventive yet practical house.