Apartment In Oku / Buttondesign

Architects: Buttondesign
Area: 78 m²
Year: 2023
Photographs: Masaki Komatsu
Manufacturers: Cosentino, NEW LIGHT POTTERY, NIPPON STEEL
Lead Architects: Kohei Kikuta, Yuzuru Murakami
Collaborator: Yuta Yoshioka
Collaborators: Kichi&Associates
City: Arakawa City
Country: Japan

Apartment in Oku, designed by Buttondesign in Arakawa City, Japan, renovates a 40-year-old building to create an open, sensory-focused living space for a family of three. The project, completed in 2023, emphasizes spatial expansiveness and comfort through innovative flooring and a connection to the outdoors.

The project is a renovation of a 40-year-old apartment building in Arakawa-ku, Tokyo. The apartment, positioned in a corner with balconies on three sides, offers a bright and airy environment for a family of three. Due to renovation constraints, the architects joined the project early to evaluate the feasibility of the client’s design and provide planning support to guide their decisions.

The client desired an open space, despite it being an apartment. To meet this request, the architects applied their principle that “openness” extends beyond the floor space. They achieved spatial expansiveness by integrating the connection to the outdoors and the surrounding scenery into daily life, presenting a proposal unique to those with an architectural perspective in interior design.

We created an open space as requested, paying attention to sensory experiences that differentiate indoors from outdoors—like the air we breathe and the temperature and texture felt by the skin. We incorporated a washed gravel finish on the floors, reminiscent of the feeling of running barefoot outdoors as a child, to evoke the sensation of being in nature.
Interview with Yuzuru Murakami and Kohei Kikuta Buttondesign

A significant focus of the project was on sensations experienced through the skin. Beyond sight, differences between indoors and outdoors are perceived through air and temperature, as well as texture underfoot. Inspired by childhood memories of running barefoot outdoors, the architects incorporated a washed-out gravel finish into the flooring, a material not typically used indoors, to bring the outdoor barefoot experience inside.

Collaborating with a plasterer, they fine-tuned the gravel finish to avoid disrupting everyday life, creating a surface comfortable enough to walk on barefoot. Wool carpets were placed in areas where people sit, offering a different underfoot feel and delineating spaces within the one-room apartment.

The floor is well-insulated to maintain a temperature similar to the rest of the room, yet its cool feel and delicate texture evoke the sensation of being in nature, fostering a unique sense of openness. While it is unconventional in Japan to have such flooring in a shoeless home, this project demonstrates how a single-floor finish can enhance the quality of life. It aims to reconnect with natural living by prioritizing human senses over mere comfort.