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.
![A Tree Grows in the Center of This Japanese Family’s Tokyo Home](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6696836461368389632/6703687103677259776-small/an-ingo-maurer-flotation-light-hangs-over-the-keiji-ashizawa-designed-kitchen-table-which-is-lined-with-carl-hansen-chairs.jpg?#)
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.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6696836461368389632/6703687103677259776-large/an-ingo-maurer-flotation-light-hangs-over-the-keiji-ashizawa-designed-kitchen-table-which-is-lined-with-carl-hansen-chairs.jpg)
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.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6696836461368389632/6703687099850178560-medium/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.jpg)
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.
![The south-facing entrance is tucked away from the road: visitors follow a path that snakes past the patio, past vertical lattice walls and into a cozy, cave-like corridor.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6696836461368389632/6703687100615057408-medium/the-south-facing-entrance-is-tucked-away-from-the-road-visitors-follow-a-path-that-snakes-past-the-patio-past-vertical-lattice-walls-and-into-a-cozy-cave-like-corridor.jpg)
![The first floor houses a storage room, guest room, gym and garage, all built around the lush inner courtyard.](https://images.dwell.com/photos-6696836461368389632/6703687102859374592-medium/the-first-floor-houses-a-storage-room-guest-room-gym-and-garage-all-built-around-the-lush-inner-courtyard.jpg)
See the full story on Dwell.com: A Tree Grows in the Center of This Restrained Tokyo Home
Related stories: