Naoto Mitsumoto and Naoko Hamana of architectural studio MihaDesign were asked to renovate an old apartment that was constructed in 1957. Working within the confines of a 2-bedroom, 770 sq ft (71.5 sq mt) apartment, the designers were asked to propose a solution for the owners – a husband and wife with 4 kids – who desperately needed to come up with a creative use of the limited space.
The result is nr1977 (2010), a design which converts the 2 rooms into 1 but replaces the wall with 2 large boxes. What is special about these boxes is that they house partitioned beds for the children in one box and a bed for the husband and wife in the other.
But to discover the real genius of the boxes one must look above and beyond. Situated on top of one of the boxes and accessed by a small staircase is a low-ceilinged desk space where the kids can quietly read or study while comfortably dangling their feet above their beds. It’s something akin to Floor 7 ½ where John Cusack’s character Craig Schwartz finds himself employed in the film Being John Malkovich.
Located above the other box is a multi-purpose space used for, amongst other things, storage and as a play area.
MihaDesign has received tons of positive feedback on their unique space-saving design, which has prompted them to take offers to replicate the design in other homes.
found through Keiji Ashizawa’s twitter stream
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