This project is an apartment renovation in Tokyo.

The room before renovation was a typical “dining kitchen + two rooms” layout, which was mass-produced in Japan after the war. Many of these units still exist in Japanese cities today. How these resources can be utilized in contemporary lifestyle. It is one of sustainability issues facing cities in Japan.

The issue of design in this project how to create a space that functional and healthy life in an extremely small room of just 36 square meters, without separating the space with walls. We focused on "a column" as an architectural language and we considered that expand on its properties. A column not only has structural properties but also interacts with its surroundings. Like a tree in park makes a space around it, or a colored cone in the middle of an alley separates lightly a space.

After we removed all the existing partitions, placed 400mm square "a column" as storage in the center of the room. This column integrates the room, and connects spaces lightly while separates them loosely. The way of placing just one column is effective on a limited space and budget. It is also appearing the space a unique feeling of tension, might be similar to the spirit of "Daikoku-hashira" which has been symbolized by the main column of Japanese wooden houses.

The room with no partitions is passed through wind and light in the whole spaces. The central column makes stagnation in the space around it, like the ripples created by a fingertip dipped in water. Natural light reflects from the soft glossy floor and sways on the walls and ceiling. And this reflect makes vivid contrasts between the rough concrete built 50 years ago and the new white wallpaper and tiles.

We hope that this space where people could feel the ever-changing light and wind in the small apartment room, and re-experience nature that difficult to recognize in the metropolitan.