Designed by: @sanaa_jimusho

Captured by: @iwanbaan x @williamulvihill

Located in northern Yokohama, this residential building occupies a 458-square-metre rectangular site while responding closely to the surrounding urban grid. Rather than following the conventional massing of a communal housing block, the project introduces a series of interconnected voids that cut through the building across its three levels. These openings create outdoor communal spaces, private courtyards, gardens, terraces and sources of natural light, breaking down the concrete volume into a sequence of shared and private environments.

The voids establish intermediate spaces that encourage interaction between residents while softening the boundaries between the building’s nine dwellings. Spread throughout the site, they bring light, air and vegetation deep into the interior, creating a varied spatial experience within the compact footprint.

Curved walls give each apartment a distinct character, allowing every home to develop a different relationship with its outdoor space. Some are organised around a large ground-floor room enclosed by a garden, while others feature fork-shaped living spaces connected to terraces on the upper levels.

Although each dwelling opens onto a different type of exterior space, privacy is maintained throughout the project. By combining gardens, terraces and courtyards with the interior layouts, the building creates a continuous relationship between indoor and outdoor living while giving each residence its own identity.