Black House, a Takatina-designed minimalist family house in Tokyo built on a budget
Architect Takaaki Kawabata and designer Christina Kawabata, the husband-and-wife-team behind the firm Takatina, are modern pioneers: They live with their two young kids in an upstate New York cabin that they transformed into a model of minimalism (see An Architect’s One-Room Family House). Photography by Mikiko Kikuyama, courtesy of Takatina. Taka and Christina’s fans included an international fashion buyer and a hair stylist, who, when they decided to move with their two kids from Brooklyn back to Tokyo, hired the couple to build them their own urban version of a contemporary minka. Dubbed the Black House, the two-story structure is clad in an industrial corrugated metal paneling known as galvanium, selected, say the designers, “to meet our client’s affection for machine-like aesthetics.” Shown here, the front door on the eastern elevation. “Rejecting the outside scenery while creating an introspective microcosmos filled with natural light and wind became the main concept,” write the designers. The fact that the structure is raised above the street enables it to have privacy—”our client wanted to be able to be naked in his house without any window coverings,” says Taka, noting that 90 percent of the glazing is on the street-facing northern elevation. The main floor is a single open room with an 11-foot-tall exposed post and beam ceiling and a polished concrete floor with radiant heating. “They’re so big and heavy, we couldn’t just use Sheetrock; we had to apply blocking to support them,” Taka told us. The living space is filled with natural light and cross ventilation, thanks to the north-facing windows (“we went for the largest we could get within the budget,” says Taka) and sliding glass door that opens to a pocket terrace. It’s also less expensive than paint and there are amazing products; we used a textured white paper from Sangetsu.” The gravel-lined courtyard serves as a buffer between the house and its next-door neighbor. Read about the advantages of gravel gardens in Gardenista’s Hardscaping 101. Floating stairs with an open rail—something permitted in Japan and encouraged by the owners—serve as a sculptural presence in the space. We thought it would be opposite but that s not the case in Japan A structural engineer got involved and it was extremely cost effective We worked with the crew as a... ...team There s a huge passion for workmanship there and pride in what they do That s one of the reasons we decided to expose the ceiling frame it s so beautifully made The kitchen is set off by a stainless-steel-topped stained oak island modeled after a Donald Judd piece. The round table is an Isamu Noguchi classic, the Cyclone Dining from Knoll; the chairs are Eames Molded Plywood from Herman Miller. A Louis Poulsen pendant light, the PH5 by Poul Henningsen, hangs over the Noguchi table. The fashion exec’s prized pieces include a Grete Jalk armchair and coffee table. The Douglas fir stairs have a narrow steel railing (yes, it passed code). The space off the stairs serves as a study and bedroom for the kids. The desk-for-two has a stained Douglas fir top and custom iron legs. In the master bedroom, the closet is set off by olive-colored heavy cotton canvas curtains that hang from a ceiling track and conceal standard metal shelving. The Case Study V-Leg Bed is paired with a Grete Jalk armchair (the mate to the one at the bottom of the stairs), Saarinen table, and vintage lamp of unknown origin. In the family bath, a stained Douglas fir shelf supports a simple sink and serves as a place to prop art. The structure’s prominent windows take on a jack-o’-lantern effect at night. The ground floor is open plan; curtained dividers allow for flexible living on the second story, where the master bedroom and bath are the only spaces with doors. Tour Takatina’s own house in The New Pioneers: An Architect’s One-Room Family House.