More than Meets the Eye
Set in Tokyo’s Suginami-ku neighbourhood, where many manga artists reside, Open Sky House is home to Zajirogh, his wife, and their three children, and was designed by Zajirogh and architect Yoshitaka Suzuki. The simple, white pentagon-shaped exterior — inspired by how a child imagines the shape of a house — discloses little of its unconventional “interior” design, where Zajirogh had to get creative to comply with the region’s strict size regulations on new homes. This creativity is immediately apparent as you step through the door into a large, open-air courtyard that the family uses as their living room. This set-up stirs a number of practical concerns — rain being one of them — but Zajirogh has come up with a clever (and often playful) solution for them all.
Inverted Courtyard
The home’s entrance is separated from the living room by a raised lip on the floor and a drainage system around the edge for rainwater; glass- and steel-covered closets to either side store and protect coats, shoes, and other household items. This unconfined entryway, which is atypical for Japan, makes it easier for the whole family to leave at once. Things to be kept dry are often stored to the side, with items like the television, piano, and precious knick-knacks sitting behind a set of sliding glass doors. Living under a blue sky is perfect for a family who loves camping, which is also why they chose to use camping furniture that can get wet or be moved quickly if needed. Concrete was chosen for the floors because of its indoor-outdoor applicability, and, in the living room area, hot water pipes were added underfoot so that the floor could be heated during colder months. In the summer, the sail-like cover blocks the sun and traps the cool air from the AC inside.
Table for Five
Alongside the colourful walls lining the courtyard is a set of large sliding doors that connect to the equally colourful kitchen. The fully equipped, L-shaped cooking area features stainless steel appliances, a ceramic countertop, open shelving, and yellow accent cupboards to hide certain items. A dining table, large enough for five plus guests, sits beneath a ceiling-mounted Bluetooth speaker so that the family can listen to music or watch the TV from across the courtyard. For the bathroom design, which is accessed from the side of the stairs opposite the kitchen, Zajirogh was practical, separating the toilet from the vanity so that five people could easily share the different spaces. An additional toilet was added at the top of the stairs with a door that pivots to close off the second story when needed.
Sleep–Study Sanctuaries
The second story is equally full of clever design solutions. A small office–entertainment–sleeping area is found at the top of the stairs and is lined by a set of windows that face the balcony overlooking the courtyard. There is a small desk where Zajirogh’s wife works during the day, and, in the evenings, the couple lays a futon here to sleep – which, he noted, might seem strange to people outside of Japan but is rather common for them. This zone is also home to a 1sqm study (the size of a small closet) that Zajirogh refers to as “his little sanctuary” for drawing and creating.
The kids' room, just down the hallway, also features their own creation space by way of a big, shared desk. Above them is a shared loft bed platform that they access by bookshelf stairs. Zajirogh imagines that in the future they will divide this space into three small rooms to offer the children some extra privacy. For the time being, however, the home is a happy and versatile space for five due to its balance of ingenuity and classic comforts.
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Images by Never Too Small
