A Small yet Spacious House with Floating Treehouse in Tokyo

Japanese architectural firm Yuki Miyamoto Architect has designed the Small House with Floating Treehouse project. It is located in Tokyo, Japan, this unique contemporary home offers a simple living room with soft natural lighting and a healthy residential environment.

by Gemma Jun 9, 2020 18 Images

Yuki Miyamoto Architect

Small House with Floating Treehouse by Yuki Miyamoto Architect

The house is located in the quiet residential area in the boundary of Central Tokyo. It was built on a lot measuring 6.5m (21ft) wide and 13m (42.7ft) deep, surrounded by rich greenery including a big old cheery blossom tree. The house owner likes outdoor activities, camping in a forest. Although this building was built in an urban area, the design of this house needs to meet their demand which can respond to the outdoor lifestyle and feel the changes of seasons and the weather intimately.

Therefore, the attic has 2 treehouse design rooms that seem floating above the living room. The concept of the design is to maximize the use of existing natural resources like, Sunlight, Wind and Greenery, to create a healthy residential environment and not depending too much on technology. To make use of the natural ventilation, high ceiling is more appropriate for the hot and humid climate of Tokyo. And the windows set between 2 treehouse fill the living room with soft natural lighting.

The typical plan was bent like a dogleg, which was designed to face the big old cherry blossom and enfold the rich greenery and intake cool wind from the west. In addition, although the area on the 2nd floor is quite small, 35sm, the dogleg shape can give more expanse and depth to the space visually than a rectangular plan. The high ceiling and the existence of the floating bridge can also add a vertical expanse.

The existence of treehouse provides not only fun playgrounds for kids but also a natural warm atmosphere. At the same time, it can make the line between outdoor and indoor blurred and it creates an outdoor-like scene, while indoor.

Photos by: Yuki Miyamoto Architect & Masayoshi Ishii