Stacked gardens in Tokyo

This innovative approach in small space design may offer you some ideas with regards to green space in your apartment, especially for those of you that live in small spaces, with little room to expand, or live in multi leveled apartments, or have balconies, etc. Tokyo-based architect Ryue Nishizawa designed this multi-story house in the middle of the city.  It’s designed to give you the feeling of being outside, while you’re technically inside and even the walls are built with this in mind.

“House & Garden”, amounts to a series of stacked concrete floor slabs bordered with transparent railings and curtains; a four-storey dwelling which is enclosed with walls of household plants growing within pots. Large balconies (for Tokyo standards) and terraces push the main living space from the street. These outdoor areas are filled with pots and plants, making the home seem more like a vertical garden. The architect has also opted to use curtains on both the interior and exterior of the house to provide privacy and divide up the living space.

Staircases spiral up through the building, passing through circular openings in the thick concrete floor plates. A similar opening cuts through the roof, allowing taller plants to stretch through to the upper terrace. Bedrooms are located on the first and third floors and are separated from meeting and study areas with glass screens and curtains. For more images as well as drawings of the levels and the designed spaces, please visit here, here, or here.