House in Nakano By HOAA / Hiroyuki Oinuma Architect & Associates

Located in the dense urban fabric of Nakano City, Tokyo, the House in Nakano by HOAA / Hiroyuki Oinuma Architect & Associates exemplifies innovative urban residential design. Covering 96 m², this architect’s own home and office responds to the challenges of compact city living while fostering light, openness, and engagement with the surrounding streetscape.

The site is hemmed in by neighboring buildings on all sides except the north, where it faces a quiet road. To maximize sunlight and connect the interior with the urban environment, a large north-facing window opens onto a curving terrace known as the Kazari Garden. The garden gently wraps along the building, escaping shadows and creating a visual and physical buffer between the city and the private interior. This design ensures a bright, green outlook from the dining and living areas, while encouraging interaction with passersby.

Inside, the house features a split-level floor plan that responds to the site’s subtle elevation changes. A spiral circulation path links views to the Kazari Garden and a rear garden, producing an experiential flow through the home. Custom shelving and display areas for cherished books, photographs, vessels, and plants transform the circulation into a curated environment, reminiscent of a small art museum, blending functionality with mindfulness and aesthetic experience.

The interior employs natural timber, exposed beams, and carefully detailed woodwork to create warmth, tactility, and a sense of continuity throughout the spaces. The split-floor organization allows rooms to overlook the gardens, creating moments of intimacy, reflection, and light-filled spatial variety. The Kazari Garden itself extends life beyond the interior: watering plants, enjoying sunlight, or conversing with neighbors fosters community interaction, making the home a semi-public entity that blurs the boundary between private and urban life.

Rather than relying on applied ornamentation or traditional decorative styles, the House in Nakano explores a new form of architectural decoration, integrating landscaping and interior display as living, functional art. This approach offers a contemporary urban dwelling where sunlight, circulation, materiality, and human engagement are orchestrated to enrich daily life in Tokyo’s compact neighborhoods.

With its combination of thoughtful circulation, natural light optimization, and urban integration, the project demonstrates how residential architecture in dense cities can be both private and socially engaging, aesthetic and functional. The House in Nakano redefines small-scale urban living, creating a mindful, interactive home that connects interior and exterior, private and public, past and present.

All the photographs are works of  Takuya Seki, Hiroyuki Oinuma