A Tree Grows in the Center of This Japanese Family’s Tokyo Home

Minutes from the capital city’s urban bustle, an architect blends steel, wood, and concrete into a harmonious retreat for a family of five.

Aug 26, 2020 - 04:34

A Tree Grows in the Center of This Japanese Family’s Tokyo Home

Minutes from the capital city’s urban bustle, an architect blends steel, wood, and concrete into a harmonious retreat for a family of five.

An Ingo Maurer Flotation light hangs over the Keiji Ashizawa-designed kitchen table, which is lined with Carl Hansen chairs.

It’s just a ten-minute train ride from the famously crowded Shibuya Crossing, but this Tokyo home feels like it's miles away from the din of city life.

Because the house next door was built almost to the edge of the property, the only place a patio could get natural light was in the very center of the lot.

Designed by architects Keiji Ashizawa and Mariko Irie of Keiji Ashizawa Design, this modernist box in the residential Yoga neighborhood is a true oasis in urban Japan: A retreat from the world for a family of five. "They simply wanted a comfortable, beautiful everyday life," says Ashizawa. And armed with natural materials and thoughtful minimalist finishes, the architects have created just that.