Curtain Wall House
Tokyo, Japan · Tokyo, Japan
Photo · Photo by Hiroyuki Hirai
A key precedent for flexible envelope design, demonstrating how giant fabric curtains can replace traditional exterior walls to create a highly adaptable, double-height residential space.
- What we like about this project
- The seamless transition from the smooth white interior floor to the exterior-grade slatted timber decking.
Materials
- wood
- fabric
- steel
- plasterboard
- decking-boards
Visual identifiers
- giant-curtain
- mezzanine-loft
- slender-column
- slatted-decking
- minimalist-kitchen
Style tags
- minimalist
- shigeru-ban
- flexible-space
- contemporary
Visual tags
- indoor-outdoor
- flexible-boundary
- double-height
- minimalist
- residential
- curtain-wall
- Geometry
- A double-height volume is partially bisected by a cantilevered mezzanine floor plate supported by a single slender circular column. The floor transitions from a smooth, seamless white surface inside to a slatted timber deck at the perimeter.
- Facade system
- Heavy-duty exterior fabric curtain track system.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with a cantilevered mezzanine slab and a single load-bearing column.
- Spatial scale
- Double-height residential scale with a low-clearance mezzanine level.
- Lighting
- Warm, recessed downlights illuminate the lower ceiling, while soft, ambient light filters through the large-scale white perimeter curtains.
- Atmosphere
- Serene, airy, and theatrical, defined by the soft texture of the massive white curtains.
- Environmental context
- An indoor-outdoor threshold condition where the exterior wall is replaced by a giant fabric curtain system, opening onto a perimeter deck.
- Spatial experience
- The space transitions from a compressed, low-ceilinged kitchen and dining zone under the mezzanine to a soaring, double-height perimeter wrapped in soft, floor-to-ceiling curtains.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal lines of the mezzanine and deck contrast with the strong verticality of the column and draped curtain folds.
- Style reading
- Japanese structural minimalism
- Program
- Private residence
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- wood, fabric, steel, plasterboard, decking-boards
- Visual identifiers
- giant-curtain, mezzanine-loft, slender-column, slatted-decking, minimalist-kitchen
- Style tags
- minimalist, shigeru-ban, flexible-space, contemporary
- Visual tags
- indoor-outdoor, flexible-boundary, double-height, minimalist, residential, curtain-wall
- Geometry
- A double-height volume is partially bisected by a cantilevered mezzanine floor plate supported by a single slender circular column. The floor transitions from a smooth, seamless white surface inside to a slatted timber deck at the perimeter.
- Facade system
- Heavy-duty exterior fabric curtain track system.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with a cantilevered mezzanine slab and a single load-bearing column.
- Spatial scale
- Double-height residential scale with a low-clearance mezzanine level.
- Lighting
- Warm, recessed downlights illuminate the lower ceiling, while soft, ambient light filters through the large-scale white perimeter curtains.
- Atmosphere
- Serene, airy, and theatrical, defined by the soft texture of the massive white curtains.
- Environmental context
- An indoor-outdoor threshold condition where the exterior wall is replaced by a giant fabric curtain system, opening onto a perimeter deck.
- Spatial experience
- The space transitions from a compressed, low-ceilinged kitchen and dining zone under the mezzanine to a soaring, double-height perimeter wrapped in soft, floor-to-ceiling curtains.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal lines of the mezzanine and deck contrast with the strong verticality of the column and draped curtain folds.
- Style reading
- Japanese structural minimalism
- Program
- Private residence
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture