TORAFU ARCHITECTS

We proposed a renovation plan for Mitsubishi condominiums to adopt wooden materials for the interior, where we pursue the comfortability of residence by discovering the potential of "wood". The site is a 70m2 existing show apartment in Yokohama, where our plan was realized.

＜KIGOCOCHI＞plays on the pursuit of "IGOCOCHI(comfortability)" channeling "KI (wood in Japanese)". Wood has a charm that awakens the senses that people in modern societies have forgotten. ＜KIGOCOCHI＞project proposes the comfortable feeling of being surrounded by forest or hugging a big tree. In the project, we proposed "a life closely nestled by wood" by imbuing wood with five senses, even those living in urban areas.
Traditionally, wood has been superficially regarded as "ground" from the "figure and ground" context; however, in this project, "figure and ground" was switched to regard wood cores with as many full-of-life functions as "figure". Dividing space with cores enables various functions such as a bedroom, an entrance, a kids' room, a kitchen, a small office, a water section, and a living-dining room to coexist loosely without partition walls.
The "entrance and bedroom core" includes the tunnel-shaped wooden entrance and a bedroom on the raised floor. The "water section core" is the core where a unit bathroom, a sauna, and other water section functions are gathered. In the dressing room, the floor is covered with Naguri-processed wood which is kind on bare feet. The outside of the core has a sofa bench in the alcove to realize the comfortability of retreating into a "tree hollow". The "kitchen, housekeeping, and study space core" is accessible from three directions. The core extends with eaves like branches growing from a tree under where we located the dining space. The space inside the eaves also houses the air conditioning system (Aerotech).
The core is covered with 3x6 plywood slabs of Japanese conifer economically. The minimal detail is easy to work with, with 4mm deep joints secured to allow for the warpage of the plywood. The hinged and outer-frameless door contributes to the sense of unity with the walls and massiveness. In addition, the lifestyle is enriched with devices throughout the interior, such as wooden doorknobs that are pleasant to the touch, and a customizable wall that allows free exchange of shelves and hooks etc.
To enhance materiality of the wooden core, we picked natural linoleum for the floor, plaster paint with humidity control for the walls and ceiling, and a calm, neutral tone to make the wood stand out.

The more we use wood, the more beautiful it becomes. We aimed to create a space that would gradually change its appearance over 10 or 20 years, so that people would grow attached to over time.