white metal sheets coat tiny Toneyama House’s facade
Takuya Takemoto Architects builds Toneyama House, a residence situated in Toyonaka City of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, showcasing innovative spatial design. The skip-floor structure covers a small lot of 76.72 sqm with a distinctive west-side access road. Facing constraints like a limited frontage, a long and narrow site shape from east to west, and a height difference from the neighboring land on the east side, the design embraces these challenges crafting a residence that defies the ordinary. Due to the restrictions imposed by the diagonal line on the north side, the ceiling height of the second floor cannot be sufficiently secured by standard design.
Takuya Takemoto Architects sets up a skip-floor layout
The Toneyama House unfolds across fourteen interconnected spaces, cleverly linked by nine layers of skipped floors. This compact residence deviates from conventional layouts with stairwells and corridors, utilizing hanging floor and ceiling planes to liberate the building from height limitations. The design features several innovative elements, from the striking 2.13-meter cantilevered garage to the 3.64-meter column-free space with climbing beams. Vertical windows facing the stairwell and high sidelights cutting through the sky on the east facade add further layers of complexity and variety to the space. Takuya Takemoto Architects engages in an architecture that balances innovation and minimal design while maintaining a sense of everyday elegance.
Toneyama House pops up on a street in Toyonaka City
Spanish interiors studio Viruta Lab has renovated a compact house in El Cabanyal, Valencia’s traditional fishing neighbourhood, using geometric blue-and-white tiling for an understated nautical aesthetic.
Built in 1946, the humble two-storey building once belonged to the grandparents of the current owner but had been boarded up for many years.
Viruta Lab has renovated a former fisherman’s house in Valencia
Viruta Lab was brought on board to transform the small 85-square-metre home into a modern holiday residence while respecting its great sentimental value to the family.
“Emotion was a very important starting point,” the studio told Dezeen.
The interior is dominated by chequerboard tiles
“The house is a family legacy and the image they have of it is very deep, so it was necessary for any intervention to be as respectful as possible and with a language that they understood and took as their own,” Viruta Lab continued.
“We understood that the architecture already had a value, that we only had to beautify it, preserve it.”
Green upholstery provides a contrast with the blue-and-white colour scheme
Viruta Lab uncovered the building’s original brick walls from under layers of peeling paint and carefully repaired the pre-existing mouldings “to give height and nostalgic value to the interior design”.
Liberal chequerboard tiling provides a contrast to these traditional design details, featured throughout all the rooms from the kitchen to the sleeping quarters.
Viruta Lab restored the home’s original mouldings
In a suitably nautical palette of navy and off-white, the tiles reference the great variety of tiled facades found in the El Cabanyal neighbourhood.
“The dominant colours on the facades of the Cabanyal are white, blue and green, which are associated with a lifestyle linked to the resources offered by the sea,” the studio said.
“It was clear that we had to respect the local traditions, the architecture and the essence of the house and give it a maritime aesthetic, reinterpreting the Mediterranean style to adapt it to the tradition of the neighbourhood using its own materials.”
Green shows up throughout the interior in the form of simple upholstered furniture – including a sofa, pouffe, benches and stools – all custom-designed by Viruta Lab for this compact space.
European oak was used to form joinery details
The interior woodwork in European oak was stained to resemble Canaletto walnut, matching the tones of the two remaining original interior doors that were painstakingly restored and repurposed as sliding doors.
“We wanted the woodwork to provide a quality counterpoint to the cold tones of the blues and greens, with an imprint and weight,” the studio said.
The remaining interior doors were restored and repurposed as sliding doors
Another key local material – esparto grass fibre – is less noticeable than the tiles but pops up throughout the house to add textural interest.
Traditionally used to make ropes, baskets, mats and espadrille sandals, the flexible natural material was repurposed to form headboards and backrests, and even clad the suspended ceilings in the bathrooms.
Esparto grass was used to from headboards and backrests
“This material has been used because of its roots in the traditions and life in the Mediterranean area, especially in the Valencian community,” the studio said.
“For Viruta Lab, the legacy comes from its use by men of the countryside and the sea, by the original residents of the Cabanyal, those men who used to wear espadrilles.”
The house has a shaded outdoor dining area on the roof
As well as a clay-tiled roof terrace with a shaded outdoor dining area, the house also features a sensitively restored inner courtyard, complete with a stone water trough where the owner’s grandfather once dried his fishing nets at the end of a day’s work.
Other projects that celebrate Valencia’s historic architecture include a 1920s penthouse that was renovated to celebrate its original mosaic floors and an octogenarian home in El Cabanyal that was updated using traditional construction techniques and local materials.
Spotted: Our reliance on unclean energy sources has catapulted our planet out of stability and into an era of change. Across the globe, fossil fuel usage accounts for 65 per cent of the carbon emissions. But, as the French startup INOCEL aims to prove with its new high-performance hydrogen fuel cell, we can transition our fossil-fuel dependence onto cleaner energy sources.
INOCEL’s very high-power PEMFC, or proton-exchange membrane fuel cell, betters the competition in a few ways. First and foremost, it is three times more powerful than others its size on the market. On top of that, the company claims the product has an energy efficiency level of 60 per cent and a durability performance that makes operating costs more attractive. Finally, its battery size and volume are smaller than other PEMFC fuel cells.
By focusing its applications on fuelling marine, ground transportation, high-performance cars, and stationary applications, INOCEL’s technology will hopefully enable the startup to have a visible impact on a scalable level.
The company will make its unrivalled hydrogen fuel cell available in a 300-kW format in 2024.
Springwise has previously spotted other innovations aimed at making hydrogen power a more accessible energy source, including a startup that’s developed a way to increase the storage capacity of hydrogen, and a system that produces hydrogen on-site to avoid transportation and storage challenges.
In the latest in our series exploring kitchen layouts, we’ve picked eight examples from Dezeen’s archive with U-shaped configurations to make efficient use of space.
As the name suggests, U-shaped kitchens consist of three worktops connected to form an open rectangle.
Popular in smaller interiors, the practical layout creates plenty of counter space for food preparation with room for storage underneath and in wall-hung cabinets above.
The design also creates a compact and efficient work triangle, with everything close to hand.
The U-shape is of the most common kitchen layouts along with one-wall kitchens, island kitchens, galley kitchens and peninsula kitchens.
This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous roundups include living rooms with statement shelving, spa-like bathrooms and home-working spaces.
Paris apartment, France, by Sophie Dries
French architect Sophie Dries combined two mid-19th-century flats in Paris to create a single large apartment.
At the centre of the apartment, this U-shaped kitchen combines dark grey floor and wall cabinets with soft red worktops, walls, floor and ceiling.
Find out more about Paris apartment ›
Delawyk Module House, UK, by R2 Studio
R2 Studio created playful interiors within this 1960s home on a London council estate. Set alongside an open-plan living and dining area, the bright kitchen combines yellow units and custom orange splashback tiles.
Countertops are arranged in a U-shape with the sink placed under a window and one arm of the U dividing the kitchen from the other communal areas.
Find out more about Delawyk Module House ›
Highgate apartment, UK, by Surman Weston
Built within a 1920s residential block in the Highgate, the kitchen and living space in this small apartment are connected by a timber-framed porthole window.
Within the small kitchen, the sink sits under a narrow window with turquoise-blue countertops inlaid with timber to create a terrazzo-like finish, positioned along the walls. The room is finished with cabinets made from fluted panels of oak finished with brass handles.
Find out more about Highgate apartment ›
Ruffey Lake House, Australia, by Inbetween Architecture
Local studio Inbetween Architecture overhauled a late 20th-century house in Melbourne to create a home for a family of five.
The ground floor was opened up to create an open-plan living and dining space that steps down to the kitchen. The cooker was located at the end of the U with the sink on one arm and space for food preparation on the other.
Find out more about Ruffey Lake House ›
Barcelona apartment, Spain, by Adrian Elizalde and Clara Ocaña
Spanish architects Adrian Elizalde and Clara Ocaña tucked the kitchen into a niche that was left over when they demolished the internal walls in this apartment in Barcelona’s Eixample neighbourhood.
More of a J-shape than a U, the asymmetrical kitchen is defined by a tiled floor. The white countertop wraps around three walls and extends into the living area, which is demarked by timber flooring.
Find out more about Barcelona apartment ›
Carlton House, Australia, by Reddaway Architects
Lit by a skylight, the kitchen separates the more enclosed spaces in this house’s original structure from a large open living and dining space within an extension.
The kitchen, which has a marble countertop above pink cabinets, extends out from the wall in a J-shape to create a partially enclosed food preparation and cooking space.
Find out more about Carlton House ›
The Cook’s Kitchen, UK, by Fraher Architects
Fraher Architects added a black-stained timber extension to this London flat to create a larger kitchen for a client who loves to cook.
A window extends up the wall to meet a roof light that extends the length of the kitchen, which has a single, in-situ-poured concrete countertop.
The painted plywood cabinets feature patterns of randomly drilled holes that double as recessed handles.
Find out more about The Cook’s Kitchen ›
HB6B – One Home, Sweden, by Karen Matz
Karen Matz created this kitchen within a small, 36-square-metre apartment that she designed for herself.
The end counter contains the sink and cooker, while one of the arms can be used as a breakfast bar. The third arm is topped with storage space and supports one side of the apartment’s raised mezzanine bedroom.
Find out more about HB6B – One Home ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing colourful interiors, outdoor fireplaces and rooftop gardens.
Not everyone has room for a huge kitchen so for our latest lookbook, we’ve rounded up ten designs with a small footprint.
One solution is a single-wall kitchen, in which everything is arranged in a single run against a wall.
Other more creative designs feature kitchens tucked in nooks, hidden behind doors or even pop-up kitchens that fold away when not in use.
This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous kitchen-related posts feature breakfast bars, kitchens with islands, green kitchens, terrazzo kitchens and kitchens with skylights.
Pocket House, UK, by Tikari Works
Aptly named Pocket House, this London extension measures just 35 square metres. Designers Tikari Works fitted the compact kitchen along a wall, with a skylight above providing natural light.
Custom-made plywood cabinets by Uncommon Projects provide storage including a run of units above the counter with sliding doors that hide everything from gadgets to plug sockets, allowing the counter to remain clutter-free.
Find out more about Pocket House ›
LIFE micro-apartments, South Korea, by Ian Lee
Like the walls in this tiny apartment in Seoul, South Korea, the storage spaces in this small kitchen have been lined with pale birch wood.
The kitchen has a stainless steel sink and a miniature hob beneath a small steel extractor. Two of the birch shelves have been left open, giving the owner space to display their earthenware.
This creates a simple, decorative touch and breaks up the streamlined design of the wooden cabinets.
Find out more about LIFE micro-apartments ›
Studio apartment, France, by Pierre-Louis Gerlier
A curved wall with scalloped wood panelling decorates this Parisian studio apartment where space is at a premium. Designer Pierre-Louise Gerlier built it into a partition to save space in the open-plan interior.
Cabinets in a bright, springlike green sit above a sink and small hob. The wall behind the kitchen area has been rendered in concrete that contrasts with the brass electrical sockets.
A vintage campaign chair in bright orange adds another touch of colour to the space.
Find out more about the studio apartment ›
Casa Mami, USA, by Working Holiday Studio
Holiday homes often need functional but space-saving kitchens and this one in the California desert is no exception. Designers Working Holiday Studio took cues from Japanese and Scandinavian design when creating this pale-wood kitchen.
Cabinets and drawers have holes instead of handles. A small black cafe table and slender chairs pick up the black colours of the mismatching sink, fridge and cast-iron cooking utensils.
Find out more about Casa Mami ›
El Camarin, Argentina, by IR Arquitectura
Bright white cupboards and shelves give this small Argentine kitchen a light, relaxing feel. Built-in furniture adds plenty of storage space to the small kitchen next to a caged balcony.
A small table can be folded out to create a dining space, and the fridge and washing machines are also hidden behind the doors.
Find out more about El Camarin ›
Minimal Fantasy Apartment, Spain, by Patricia Bustos Studio
The only minimal thing in the Minimal Fantasy Apartment is the footprint of the kitchen, which has been built against one wall in the completely pink apartment.
Colourful cabinets have geometric shapes and blue hues that break up the monotone pink. A small pale-pink sink sits on a pink-tiled countertop. Spherical wall lights add a festive feel.
Find out more about Minimal Fantasy Apartment ›
Majamaja, Finland, by Pekka Littow
Majamaja is an off-grid cabin in the Finnish seaside that was created as a holiday home by architect Pekka Littow.
He added clever space-saving tricks such as fold-down furniture and a kitchenette that can be hidden behind birch plywood doors when not in use.
The doors have matching shelves above the stainless-steel sink, hob and splashback.
Find out more about Majamaja ›
Brooklyn Loft by Dean Works
This former studio apartment in Brooklyn was reorganised around a multi-functional plywood volume. In the kitchen, where it has been lined with grey and white marble, it forms cabinets and countertops.
The module holds both the since and a gas hob, as well as a built-in oven. Open shelves lend the feel of a display case and allow the owners easy access to crockery and cooking utensils.
Find out more about Brooklyn Loft ›
Sanwa kitchen, Japan, by Sanwa
Japanese brand Sanwa designed this tiny kitchen, which is made from bamboo, especially for micro-homes. When closed, the kitchen doubles as a compact work desk.
An inbuilt electric motor opens the lid up to turn it into a fully functional kitchen with kitchen and washing facilities in one single unit.
The kitchen is one of a range of compact kitchens by the brand.
Find out more about Sanwa kitchen ›
Tiny Holiday Home, The Netherlands, by Chris Collaris and i29 Interior Architects
Pale wood meets black wood to create a sculptural, striking kitchen design in this Dutch holiday home.
The house was designed to be “spatially efficient” and make use of every centimetre. This can also be seen in the wardrobe-like kitchen, which features bespoke full-height cabinetry designed by i29 Interior Architects and Chris Collaris to echo the graphical form of the house.
Find out more about Tiny Holiday Home ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing peaceful bedrooms, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.
