Moving to Tokyo with his wife, architect Takeshi Hosaka found a tiny nook of the urban world to build his modest, single-story, micro-home.
Called Love2 House, the single-storey building sits on a plot in the Bunkyo district, which measures just 31 square metres. Hosaka and his wife relocated to the city after living in Yokohama for 10 years in a property called Love House, which had a floor area of 38 square metres.
When the architect began a professorship at Waseda University of Art and Architecture in 2015, he decided they needed to move to Tokyo to reduce his commute, but could only acquire this small plot. They called their new, even tinier home Love2 House as a continuation on the theme.
Love2 House embraces the natural bustle of the Tokyo lifestyle by easily slipping into a vacant alcove between two traditionally urban living spaces, and also encases a full, 19 meters of living space between its reinforced concrete walls. Crowning the concrete micro-home is the main event, Hosaka’s funnel-roof.
"In the winter, the two skylights effectively bring soft sunlight into the house and in the summer the house is filled with brilliant sunshine like in a tropical country."
While living in one of today’s busiest cities, Hosaka managed to attain the pleasures of country living by architecturally sculpting and designing both into and around the 30 meters of Tokyo pavement where Love2 House nestles. When the door is open, the house's proximity to the road means the interior becomes part of the streetscape, and passers by regularly stop to chat with the couple as they sit at the dining table.