New Kyoto Town House 4 / Alphaville Architects

Stacking Tsuboniwa Gardens - Traditionally, Kyoto has had a high planar density with townhouses in rows on a narrow strip of land and a low cross-sectional density. With low-rise buildings lining the street, that rich living space has been secured by arranging external spaces such as street gardens and tsuboniwa on a planar scale. Today, however, while the planar density remains the same, there is a growing demand for mid to high-rise buildings in cross-sectional terms, and houses must devise ways to incorporate effective exterior spaces in the new situation while taking advantage of the special characteristics of the city.