In Yokohama's northern precincts, SANAA's Okurayama Apartments present a radical reimagining of urban housing by breaking from traditional dense residential planning to foster a communal, interconnected living experience.
The structure, a rectilinear block tailored to its 458-square-meter plot, carves out interstitial voids—open-air courtyards, private terraces, and communal gardens—that break the building’s mass into breathable, light-filled spaces. These open areas enable a continuous indoor-outdoor fluidity that fosters both privacy and neighborly interaction, offering a refreshing counterpoint to the isolating density typical of urban housing.
Each of the nine units in the complex embraces SANAA's signature interplay of minimalism and organic spatial design, where curved walls and asymmetric layouts give each residence a unique spatial character. Far from standard apartment layouts, each unit presents a distinctive interaction with the outdoors: one unit might feature a generous garden around a ground-floor room, while another extends into a terrace that shapes the second-floor living space. SANAA’s vision here is of an integrated, layered architecture that harmonizes privacy with community, embedding the landscape within the residential experience.
Rather than maximizing unit count, the architects prioritized a dynamic yet serene environment where private and shared spaces blend fluidly. The careful insertion of courtyards within the rectilinear form not only maximizes light and air but also creates “strip-shaped” gardens and terraces that feel naturally interwoven with the building's fabric. Windows at varied heights capture shifting vistas, including intimate garden views, sinuous outer walls, and glimpses of the city beyond, offering residents a multiplicity of experiences within compact confines.
Okurayama Apartments reflect a paradigm shift in urban architecture: a model for shared living that dissolves rigid boundaries, encouraging a modern, interwoven lifestyle within the heart of Yokohama’s urbanity.
