- Project: Inokashira Connected Residence
- Architect: Moriyoshi Naotake Atelier
- Location: Japan, Mitaka
- Year: 2023
- Area: 271 m2
- Photography: Satoshi Shigeta
Inokashira Connected Residence by Moriyoshi Naotake Atelier
The Inokashira Connected Residence is a forward-thinking response to the challenges of urban collective housing in Japan. Designed by Moriyoshi Naotake Atelier, the project redefines how multiple households can live together comfortably while preserving privacy, ensuring abundant natural light, and fostering a subtle sense of community.
Unlike traditional apartment blocks or detached homes, the residence introduces a carefully choreographed layout where dwelling units are separated by dedicated gardens and terraces, allowing natural ventilation and daylight to reach every interior. This architectural solution offers residents both privacy and openness—two elements often at odds in dense urban environments.
Addressing Urban Housing Challenges
Collective housing in compact cities like Mitaka, Tokyo’s suburbs often struggles with narrow plots, limited sunlight, and a lack of privacy. Moriyoshi Naotake Atelier confronted these issues by arranging dwelling units independently and placing green buffers—gardens, service balconies, and terraces—between them.
The result is a housing complex that feels light, breathable, and comfortable, rather than cramped or overbearing.
Gardens and Open-Air Buffers
Each unit benefits from its own dedicated garden, strategically placed between walls to enhance privacy while acting as a source of greenery and ventilation. Additionally, small open-air service balconies extend the living space outdoors, giving residents places to enjoy fresh air while maintaining seclusion.
Terraces and Three-Dimensional Spaces
On the upper floors, second-floor terraces provide outdoor areas that create layered, three-dimensional spatial experiences. Residents can enjoy greenery and daylight from multiple perspectives, blurring the boundary between indoor and outdoor living.
These terraces also add visual rhythm to the exterior, avoiding the monotony of flat façades and introducing liveliness to the surrounding streetscape.
Balancing Privacy and Community
A key feature of the design is the balance between privacy and neighborhood connection. While each household enjoys secure private areas, the placement of gardens and terraces makes the complex appear open and welcoming to the neighborhood.
Passersby and neighbors can see the greenery and façades, but interiors remain shielded—achieving transparency without intrusion. This duality sets the project apart from both conventional apartment blocks and isolated single-family homes.
Materials and Atmosphere
The complex uses metal cladding and robust outer walls to frame the delicate interplay of gardens and terraces. This contrast between hard exterior finishes and lush greenery reinforces the residence’s character as both protective and open, modern yet rooted in community values.
Redefining Collective Housing
The Inokashira Connected Residence demonstrates how architecture can transform urban density into an opportunity. By prioritizing light, air, and outdoor space, Moriyoshi Naotake Atelier has created a housing model that reimagines collective living as comfortable, sustainable, and socially engaging.
This project shows that living together in compact urban sites doesn’t have to compromise privacy—it can instead enrich community life and architectural quality.
