The Complexity of Bay Window Tower House Design

Bay Window Tower House presents a comfortable residential design intended for residence and workspace for the owner with a relatively small land area in the middle of a densely populated Japanese city. This house was designed by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture by putting forward four elements: human behavior, microclimate behavior, structural behavior, and neighbor house behavior.

Front view Bay Window Tower House, Photo by Masao Nishikawa

In the element of human behavior, architects analyze the space needs of the activities to be carried out by the house's occupants. In this context, residents want a flexible room to carry out normal activities with their small families, plus a room that can be used for work. Owners also want these organically designed spaces to always be able to change dynamically, even after changing functions and ownership.

Ground floor plan Bay Window Tower House, Source by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

1st & 2nd  floor plan Bay Window Tower House, Source by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

3rd & rooftop  floor plan Bay Window Tower House, Source by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture

The next element is the behavior of the microclimate. In the design of this house, the architect observes and analyzes natural changes around the site. This analysis resulted in the design of three types of windows: light windows for lighting, wind windows for ventilation, and wall windows that must block both. These three windows are placed so that light, wind, and heat conditions are most effective. The architects also added it carbonized cork to the outer skin of the building to withstand excessive heat in the summer and stabilize temperatures in the winter.

Above view Bay Window Tower House, Photo by Masao Nishikawa

From structural elements, Bay Window Tower House is designed using the main steel structure by considering vertical and seismic forces decomposed, considering Japan is an earthquake-prone area. In addition, the shape of the façade in this building efficiently receives air friction loads because it is designed with an octagonal shape, and the architect also rotates the orientation of this house, making the house have empty space on each side.

Interior kitchen Bay Window Tower House, Photo by Masao Nishikawa

In the last element, household behavior, this house is designed to build a positive relationship between the tower and the surrounding buildings, mostly family homes, especially on a small urban land. Often the circulation of natural light and the air becomes a problem. The design of the façade and orientation is the solution to this problem because the house has more flexibility to place openings and is not disturbed by neighbors.

Interior Bay Window Tower House, Photo by Masao Nishikawa

Regarding ornamentation and material selection, the architect decided to use materials that change from time to time as much as possible and display various expressions every day. Like steel in the main structure, carbonized cork gradually loses color and becomes round with rounded corners. Due to porousness, seeds flying from somewhere can settle and sprout. The interior is mostly wooden, the walls are plastered with mica, and the iron part is painted with ferrodol paint that also contains mica, so it gets duller and brighter with age.

Along the way, the architect wanted this house to be a building that would continue to live as part of the cityscape, with dynamic spatial dynamics depending on the function of this building.

Detail façade Bay Window Tower House, Photo by Masao Nishikawa

Detail façade Bay Window Tower House, Photo by Masao Nishikawa