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EASTERN design office
Slit Court
Sumizome, Fushimi, Kyoto
Japan
“Slit Court - a hidden potentiality of an inner court.”
Eastern Design Office
Photo: Koichi Torimura
The building is located in Sumizome, Fushimi, Kyoto, a small town with a distinguished history situated south of the Tofukuji temple.
Built on a gentle slope the residential five story complex contains two units on the first floor, four units on the second to fourth floor, and two units on the fifth floor. To protect the residents from the street noise and protect what the they believe matters most in life, the sky, the land, and the light, the architects faced the apartments towards an inner court.
Photo: Koichi Torimura
Photo: Koichi Torimura
Photo: Koichi Torimura
“We made a cylindrical inner court in the middle of the building. By building a void at the recessed place from the main street, the sky, the ground and the light is framed. Eleven curved slits (narrow windows) are winding up on the surface of four concrete walls. The movement of the upward rising spiral curves makes each resident feel his room is connected to the blue sky and the stars. The view blocked by the slim windows softly protects the subtle quietness inside.”
Anna Nakamura + Taiyo Jinno
Photo: Koichi Torimura
To enter the inner court one passes under the cherry tree carved on the exterior wall. The cherry tree is a pale charcoal cherry called Sumizomezakura, a type that bears pale charcoal colored cherry blossoms whenwhen singing a song mourning a dead person.
Photo: Koichi Torimura
The path leads to a back street which again leads to another road. A typical use of land in the urban structure of Kyoto.
Drawing courtesy EASTERN design office
Site Plan
Drawing courtesy EASTERN design office
Plans
Drawing courtesy EASTERN design office
Section
Site area: 440.12 square meters
Total floor area: 992.94 square meters
Completed: 2009
Client: Ryoichi Miyagoshi
Architects: EASTERN design office
Project Team: Anna Nakamura + Taiyo Jinno
Structural Engineering: Hojo Structure Research Institute
Construction: Kuwahara Co., Ltd
October 12, 2009