This house is a three-story wooden house located in a residential area near the center part of Tokyo. The client is a couple working together, and they requested a space where they could spend a relaxing in holiday. In addition, high air tightness and high heat insulation specifications were required so that the entire three-story space could be used without the stress of temperature differences.

Based on these requests and the shape of the long and narrow site, a light court was set up in the center of the site, and rooms were arranged on the left and right sides of a light court. The use of eco-technologies such as high insulation resin sashes, additional insulation, and a ventilation system for total heat exchange ensure high insulation performance. In addition, we aimed for a cozy living space by using wood finishes in each part of the house while considering fire proof regulations.

Generally, in urban houses built in Japanese urban areas, the area and dimensions of each part are limited due to laws and regulations such as diagonal line restrictions, floor area ratios, fire resistance, etc., and it is often difficult to adopt various eco technologies.

In this house, we aimed to become an eco-house with a good balance between design and performance by utilizing a light court and a void to allow wind, light and heat to pass through, without relying too much on equipment specifications. As a whole, it is a light performance eco-house and has a light court, so we named it “Asagaya Light Eco House”.