4 Shiratori: a new form of high-density housing at 80 families per acre: detailed explanation

In the usual way of building high-rise apartments, these 14,400 m2 of built space are put in a tower, and occupy only 1,440 m2 of the land. The remaining 8,560 m2 of land is typically left as a large open area of dead space between the buildings, good for parking, but so unpleasant that it is useless for human purposes. Emotionally it belongs to no one.
But if we put the 14,400 m2 in low buildings, the buildings cover 4,800 m2 of the one hectare. This sounds more crowded, but what happens is that the remaining 5,200 m2 of land can now be divided into small areas which are beautiful and useful. Instead of being a desert of horrible space it becomes humane because it can be composed of small gardens and narrow, winding, semi-pedestrian lanes.

1. General description of the plan

The uniqueness of each house is created by a unique plan and windows. Each one is a real home, not a cell in an egg-crate.

3. The beauty of the lanes

The lane is curved so there is a constantly and subtly changing view. At one end, one senses a connection to the Main Street creating a neighborly feeling of community. Houses vary as you go along the lane. You can feel the uniqueness of each house, from the changing windows, and from subtle changes of material, color and position in the different houses.

#book/The Nature of Order/3 A Vision of a Living World/10 “Belonging” in High-density Housing#