This is a renovation of a unit in a collective housing complex facing Chausuyama Park in Ōtsu City. The unit has a frontage of more than 8 meters, giving it a wider proportion compared to typical recent apartment layouts.

From the main opening, one can enjoy the abundant greenery of Chausuyama Park in the near view, and in the distance, the water system flowing from Lake Biwa into the Seta River, forming the Ōmi Basin.

On the opposite side, there are two consolidated openings, and when the demolition was carried out and the site was visited, a pleasant breeze flowing toward the scenery could be felt.

To maximize the appeal of a unit that allows residents to feel this external environment, the plan avoided dividing the interior into multiple small rooms.

Collective housing, also called apartment housing, means units gathered together in one building. Each unit itself often feels like just a collection of rooms. Rather than calling it a “dwelling unit,” it might be closer to calling it a “collection of rooms.”

In this project, instead of planning independent rooms for each family member, the design considered how the family could enrich their life to the fullest within the unit as a whole. In doing so, the approach eliminated the idea of designing for individuals (one person) and instead focused purely on the functions and places necessary for living.

By discarding the concept of separate rooms and avoiding unnecessary partitions or fittings, the design created wide spaces, long tables, large beds, and spacious closets—rather than small rooms, single desks, single beds, or individual closets. This allowed for shared living experiences that could not occur in isolated rooms.

Eating, sleeping, playing, studying, working, cooking, and doing laundry—these activities interfere and overlap within the unit, and places of living change fluidly. The result is a lifestyle with good ventilation, both for the family and the environment.