This also allows light to come into each floor from above. The roof plane follows the upward curvature of the floors below, channelling rainwater away from the windows into the centre of the roof, where it drains to ground level through a slit in the southern wall. «The site at first looked like it was buried by the surroundings,» said the architects. Inside, each concrete level is covered with wooden floorboards. An open-plan bedroom on the upper floor features a bath and shower room with a glass surround, taking advantage of the privacy provided by the swooping concrete bays. Takeshi Hosaka designed the Byobugaura House for a couple with two children in a residential area of Yokohama, Japan. A spiral staircase rises through the trough-shaped floors of this concrete residence in Japan by local studio Takeshi Hosaka Architects (+ slideshow). Related story: Yuusuke Karasawa’s maze-like S House has an entirely transparent facadeSituated in a densely populated area, the property faces neighbours on three sides and backs onto a three-metre-tall retaining wall for a grassy knoll to the rear. The ramping floors were devised to give privacy to the inhabitants, while maximising space inside the property. From outside, the curves give the impression that residents might be crushed below the concrete. «The oppressive feeling exuded by the three-metre-tall retaining wall on the east side is skilfully minimised by the rising floor, directing the eye to the green that is beyond,» said the architects. A kitchen on the middle level features built-in wooden fittings and, in keeping with the rest of the building, exposed concrete walls and ceilings. «In response, the design sought to pull in an equal amount of light and wind in section to both the basement and the ground level.»
As the floors scoop upwards, they meet the top of glass doors and windows that bracket the front and rear of each floor.
