New Patterns of Inhabiting

“New Patterns of Inhabiting: A Domestic Public Building” explores how architecture can respond to the shifting patterns of living in contemporary Tokyo, where over half of households now consist of a single person. As people increasingly live alone in extremely compact apartments, often with limited access to light, green space, or room for basic domestic activities, feelings of loneliness and disconnection have become more common. This project proposes a building that functions as an extension of the home—open from morning to night for both collective and individual use. It offers spaces that support daily life beyond the constraints of small private dwellings: a café, communal kitchen, shared living room-workspace, onsen, tatami room, and rooftop terrace. Positioned between two streets, the building creates a public passage and a series of in-between spaces—balconies, mesh-screened thresholds, and planted terraces—that invite informal encounters and offer moments of quiet retreat. It aims to support fluid movement between solitude and sociability, and foster new forms of coexistence.

Typology: Public Building
Program: Café, communal kitchen, shared workspace-living room, onsen, exercise room
Scale: 750 square meters (site area)
Material: Steel, metal mesh, steel deck