Tiny Houses

3 meter-wide Tokyo home sits between two roads

3 meter-wide Tokyo home sits between two roads
The Wall of Nishihara, by Sabaoarch (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The Wall of Nishihara, by Sabaoarch (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
View 27 Images
Notwithstanding the tiny footprint, the interior is well-stocked (Photo: Sabaoarch)
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Notwithstanding the tiny footprint, the interior is well-stocked (Photo: Sabaoarch)
The Wall of Nishihara is roughly-finished on the inside and out (Photo: Sabaoarch)
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The Wall of Nishihara is roughly-finished on the inside and out (Photo: Sabaoarch)
The Wall of Nishihara was completed in 2013 (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The Wall of Nishihara was completed in 2013 (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The house is located in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The house is located in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
A partly-open staircase offers access to each level (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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A partly-open staircase offers access to each level (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
The house comprises a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft) (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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The house comprises a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft) (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
Considering its small size and unusual shape, the Wall of Nishihara is actually a rather appealing looking house (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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Considering its small size and unusual shape, the Wall of Nishihara is actually a rather appealing looking house (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
The house boasts a relatively generous rooftop terrace (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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The house boasts a relatively generous rooftop terrace (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
Sabaoarch installed lots of small windows (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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Sabaoarch installed lots of small windows (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
The house sports space-saving measures like placing the washing machine in the bathroom (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The house sports space-saving measures like placing the washing machine in the bathroom (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The unusually-shaped Wall of Nishihara (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The unusually-shaped Wall of Nishihara (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The Wall of Nishihara is roughly-finished on the inside and out (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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The Wall of Nishihara is roughly-finished on the inside and out (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
A partly-open staircase offers access to each level (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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A partly-open staircase offers access to each level (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The Wall of Nishihara, by Sabaoarch (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The Wall of Nishihara, by Sabaoarch (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
Sabaoarch installed lots of small windows (Photo: (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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Sabaoarch installed lots of small windows (Photo: (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
Shot of the bathroom (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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Shot of the bathroom (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The Wall of Nishihara was completed in 2013 (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The Wall of Nishihara was completed in 2013 (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The house comprises a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft) (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The house comprises a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft) (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The architects have done an excellent job arranging the interior and have made full use of what space is available (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
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The architects have done an excellent job arranging the interior and have made full use of what space is available (Photo: Yuji Nishijima)
The house is located in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
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The house is located in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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Architectural drawing of the Wall of Nishihara (Image: Sabaoarch)
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View gallery - 27 images

As our cities grow increasingly crowded and house prices rise, plots that would have once been considered unsuitable for building upon are becoming more attractive and profitable. With this in mind, Tokyo's 3 m (9.8 ft) wide Wall of Nishihara is located on a plot shoehorned between two roads.

The Wall of Nishihara was completed in 2013 and is located in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya ward. It's roughly-finished on both the inside and out, and the sides of the home don't sport any full-size windows. Sabaoarch has instead installed lots of small windows which appear to offer a decent amount of natural light.

Despite a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft), the home includes a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, lounge, study, a patio, and a rooftop terrace. The rooms are scattered among multiple floors and half-floors, and accessible via a partly-open staircase.

The house comprises a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft) (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)
The house comprises a total floorspace of just 78 sq m (839 sq ft) (Photo: Ohno Shigeru)

As is often the case with small homes, the Wall of Nishihara required a lot of compromises. That said, considering its size and lack of privacy, it does offer a certain appeal for the right occupant – though perhaps you'd want to invest in some earplugs for that traffic noise.

Surprisingly perhaps, the Wall of Nishihara is by no means the narrowest home we've reported on so far, and is easily beaten in this regard by an expensive 2.5 m (8 ft)-wide home in London, and Poland's 1.2 m (3.93 ft)-wide oddity, the Keret House.

Source: Sabaoarch via Arch Daily

View gallery - 27 images
5 comments
5 comments
BigGoofyGuy
I think that is really neat. I think it is a very creative use of space.
It seems 'small is the new big' when it comes to houses, cars and other things.
charizzardd
This seems small but ~10 ft wide isn't unheard of, many rooms are say 10x15. Also, 839sqft is not a small home, it may be compared to suburban areas, but goot luck finding an apt in NYC with 800+sqft, washer dryer, private rooftop, and a parking spot for less than 5000+ dollars a month!
Just important to keep in mind relativism. The true tinyhome movement boasts homes in the 80-200 sqft range, I think most commonly around 120-130... now that is a tinyhome!
sk8dad
Creative use of space, but external architecture leaves a lot to be desired. The windows look like bullet holes from a distance. This would be better suited to fit the surrounding architectural style of the Green Line in Lebanon.
DonGateley
Like most Japanese urban/suburban architecture I've seen it is simply atrocious.
Slowburn
How much of the floor space is stairway?