Houses to Live and Work in Tokyo

HOUSES TO LIVE AND WORK IN TOKYO

CONTEMPORARY SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING IN URBAN CONTEXT

EXTENDED ABSTRACT Luís Filipe Alves dos Santos Baptista Machado October 2010

1. INTRODUCTION THE STUDY

OBJECTIVES The theme focuses on the relationship between spatial organization of the Japanese house, with a workspace in order to explore the complexity and diversity of different modes of experience and ownership of space, embedded in a very rich and characteristic cultural context. The study of the historic, social, economic evolution and architectural examples of contemporary Japanese is done in order to decode some patterns that exist in Japanese architecture, and be able to introduce them in other future projects. The work focused on the study of contemporary Japanese residential buildings, which are associated to workspaces.

The main goals of this study are: - Study of articulation and configuration of built spaces, that link the two uses (housing and work) and that enhance this relationship as an important issue to be worked. - A study of the batch insertion in the urban mesh and locations. - Study of the types of relationship between outer space and the sets of housing and work spaces, and its classification according to some parameters. - A study of four pre-defined typologies and their classification according to parameters previously established. - Identification and systematization of the data investigated in the search for typology solutions, in project phase that relate to housing and work space.

THEMATIC FRAMEWORK This work is aligned with an increasingly common topic these days, the theme proposed is related to the theme of entrepreneurship. Since immemorial times, man needed to work to get basic needs (food and housing), quite common in the everyday activities of any person, regardless of their culture. With the emergence of cities, large clusters of housing, commerce and services it, has become increasingly complicated to work and live in the same space. For economic, social or cultural reasons, the physical link between the living space and work over the years has become more distant. Thus the time plays more and a more a key role in the life of every person, it is a valuable asset that people have to learn to manage. For example, there are cases in Portugal of people who come to travel 300 km every day to access their work. Others, in turn, despite living much closer to the workplace, they lose the same time on the road. We then witnessed an increase of so-called dormitory neighborhoods, located on the outskirts of city centers, which remain almost deserted during the day due to the lack of provision for local employment, and work only as places to rest overnight. With the great technological development in recent decades, access to information and communication between people has become much easier and more efficient, minimizing the time spent performing each task, and profiting from it the best a using it for other activities. There are certain jobs that due to the evolution of media, such as Internet usage, can be performed anywhere in the world, without having to be installed in the cabinet, or a specific site.

On the other hand, more and more professions allow us to work from home and those who see this as an opportunity to have a quieter life and spend more time with family, especially with the children or elders. Residents of all towns seem to gain from the existence of full-time residents, merchants and craftsmen of the modern era. The visual permeability and / or sound of the built environment is a key point in building a more safe, comfortable and suitable space for these use. However, it seems

to be a crucial added value that the presence of fixed agents who develop their business locally is a key link in fostering, promotion and enrichment of where they live. The desire to improve the working environment in order to maximize productivity and job satisfaction is another important issue. It is well known the success story of Microsoft, something that Bill Gates developed from the garage of his home, as it is well recognized the importance of Manga, Japanese comic animation, created in the Nara period (century VIII a. C.) brand "Hello Kitty" and many other products of current Japanese economy, which originated many years ago - products of small houses of work.

In this perspective, the organization of living space will have to be rethought in order to insert a new use - the workspace. Although the Japanese planning regulations may be different, nothing prevents us to reflect on the validity of these models (case studies) on the application in other cultural contexts.

2. DEVELOPMENT OF STUDY

The work was done into five chapters, in which the first is for an introduction.

The second chapter is divided into 2 parts. In the first part is made literature review on the origin and development of the subject until today. We study the apperance of urban areas that stood out the most, the various historical events and the high rate of rural exodus, which led to the growth of the suburbs of large urban centers. In the second part was made an approach to the theme "Knowledge Society" and how this relates to the theme of entrepreneurship and work from home.

EMERGENCE OF URBAN CENTERS As the man began to set in places and left the temporary shelters, it was necessary to create conditions that would allow their stay. This has allowed the development of various economic activities, agriculture and trade that did not exist to date in such an organized and planned way. With the first building, the man was forced to rethink the living space and its structure. The buildings became more elaborate and more solid than the temporary shelters.

The earliest civilizations evolved from agrarian societies, which were located in the fertile valleys along major rivers. The fertile banks allowed people to subsist in the region and the rivers also became important channels of communication and transportation. The early of four civilizations, which led to the development of urban centers and with it the necessity of introducing living spaces were located along the major rivers in the alluvial regions, such as the valleys of the Tigris - Euphrates in Mesopotamia the valley of the Indus River and its tributaries in Pakistan and India, the valley of the River Nile in Egypt and the river basins of the Yangtze and Hwang Ho in China.

RURAL EXODUS Rapid urban growth, along centuries was initially due to rural exodus, rural people who flocked to urban centers in search of new opportunities and better living conditions. In some cases, migrating in search of protection, derived from the numerous wars that ravaged many areas. The concept of urbanization is associated with the concentration of many people in a confined space and the replacement of the primary activities (agriculture) for secondary activity (industry) and tertiary (commerce and services).

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Before the industrial revolution in the century XVIII, economic activities were composed in the urban environment by small workshops of artisans and merchants, and in rural areas by agricultural activities. With the invention of the steam engine by Watt (1765) it begins of the industrial revolution. The Industrial Revolution represented a huge technological advance, with a profound impact on productive, economic and social process. It triggered the development of various areas such as food, transport, construction, among others, and it ended up completely changing the habits and culture of populations, increasing capital accumulation and consumption. Moreover the production of many goods, which were handmade, started to be manufactured by machines and therefore more accessible for people. With the introduction of industries, many people abandoned other activities to go to work for factories, mainly people from rural areas with less education. The factories begun to concentrate hundreds of workers, later forming large clusters.

URBAN PLANNING It was necessary to rethink the city again, in order to improve the quality of life for its inhabitants and reduce the miserable conditions where the majority of the population lived. At the end of the century XIX, better organized plans were suggested with greater emphasis on improving hygiene conditions, such as ventilation, lighting, piped water and sewers. Polluting industries were relocated to remote areas of the city, the suburbs, away from the center as well as some dwellings of the middle and working classes with more reasonable dimensions. The rationalization of communication channels with the creation of broad avenues, the division of economic activities in urban areas and large enterprises gave a more modern look. There were two types of approaches to minimize the impacts of industrialization of the century XIX: the utopians and hygienists.

Another major factor influencing the size of urban centers is the means of transportation, which according to Mumford (1982), have always been the driving force of the city and that without them it would be impossible for them to evolve. If we look at the origin of early urban centers, we see that all these come from nearby rivers or the sea, taking advantage of the potential for trade.

With the invention of the steam and consequently the train, after the industrial revolution, it was possible to transport people and goods more quickly, enabling the relocation of homes and factories out of urban centers. It was during the century XX, that was registered the highest level the development of transport, when Henry Ford in 1912 began producing cars in series, resulting in the widespread use of private transport.

POPULATION GROWTH According to Philip M. Hauser (1957) it is estimated that in 1800 only 3% of world population lived in urban areas, consisting of 5,000 or more inhabitants. However since 1800, we saw the beginning of a time where it would be registered an increase in the percentage of urban population, as until that time it had not been that relevant. In 1850 the percentage rose to 6.4% in 1900 consisted of 13.6% in 1950 reached 29.8% and thereafter there was a steady annual increase of 3%.

After the 2nd World War came a peaceful period more and great economic development, known as the baby-boom, due to the better conditions and the high rate of birth registration. Furthermore the best conditions of hygiene and advances in health care lowered the mortality rate of infants and of the rest of the population, increasing life expectancy. These events resulted, in developing regions, on a significant increase in the urban growth rate of 15% to 30%. In the case of heavily

industrialized and developed regions, the rural population is declining and overall progression of the urban growth rate has declined, although in the last 25 years the proportion of urban population has grown from 55% to 70%.

DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY The development of technology since the mid-80s with the advent of the personal computer, with smaller sizes, the high development and dissemination of voice media and file sharing, and particularly the Internet, it was possible to communicate with any person in the world, since it was connected to the network. In many activities, especially in the services sector, it was possible to develop tasks, without daily transportation to the workplace. Thus, due to competition from international markets, some companies have been forced to reduce their cost structure and the areas far employees to work. Also the small home office has undergone major transformations in recent years, derived from the technological and social development, and the infinite potentialities. The virtual office concept has been extended, enabling now work and compete for the world market in a competitive manner, from a simple home office. In 2008, in the public sector, the Portuguese government also has expressed its intention to follow this model presented by the Spanish government in 2007, justifying that it was necessary "to promote conciliation between family life and professional employee", after studies published in Spain that proved more than 50% of the population had "difficulty in reconciling the daily work with domestic responsibilities and family."

"SOHO" From the end of the century XX and early century XXI, the concept of working from home has been designated as Small Office / Home Office (SOHO). It covers a vast area of job types and industries. Could be linked to micro, small, medium or large companies.

KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY The "Knowledge Society" refers to any society in which knowledge is the main productive resource instead of capital and labor. This concept can also refer to the use that certain society gives to information. The "knowledge society" creates, shares and uses knowledge for the benefit of the prosperity and welfare of its people (Ministry of Education, Interim Tertiary e-Learning Framework 2004)

The notion of "knowledge society" emerged in the late '90s and it is particularly used by some scholars as an alternative to the term "Information Society". Knowledge is constructed from the interaction with the outside world, and is organized and stored in the mind of every individual. It is also stored at an organizational level, in the minds of employees and documents and electronic records. We can distinguished two forms of knowledge: the implicit, which is stored in the mind of every person and is recognized instinctively without being formulated in words, and explicit knowledge, which was communicated to others and is present in documents and written procedures. Organizations have come to recognize, increasingly, the value of knowledge and many workers are now recognized as knowledge workers.

There is an ancestral relationship of the house as the physical environment to support the development and management of human activities. On one hand, far the social processo of structure of a specific community in which it operates, and the other as an extension of the tasks of countryside. For example, if we have a Muslim community, we know that the woman use to develop all its production activities at home, and therefore specific conditions were necessary to make possible for a human being to live closed most of his life. When we go to a Chinese village lost in time, there are still specific divisions to

save the animals, like pigs, which were placed, in general, in the division of the rooms beneath the house, to warm it in cold nights. In the house of Minho in Portugal, there is a balcony built for working flax, and a division to keep the grain, a cellar to tread the grapes, etc..

With the import of the enlightenment and rational ideas to urban planning, the society seems to have been substantially developed for the promotion of employment (to be employed, working in conjunction with other offices / spaces created specifically for the job, including trades at the landings level that started to lining the main roads). In other words, we now have a model clearly separating the two activities: to live and work. Today, the theory of offices and institutional organization is increasingly being into questioned. Not that it expected its abandonment, but it seems, for now, still to be the only model available. With the advent of the Internet and other communication mechanisms allowed by the development of new communication technologies and information, by new forms of work yearn for new fringes of society, and the growth of a generation of experts, interested people responsible for creation of physical spaces strictly speaking, architects, taking the dynamics of this issue at hand, and to transpose it to a new generation of cities.

Japan, by not abandoning the traditional system of land division, a home for a lot, and having already dipped into the development of a "knowledge society" of some 50 years now, have presented proposals which may be catalysts of our own thinking on the subject.

The third chapter is like a framework of japanese historical evolution to the century XXI, which addresses the social structure, development and organization of japanese cities, as well as elements and characteristic styles of Japanese architecture. This study also analyzes two recent projects, important architects of the century XX, who explore the theme "work at home" and present innovative spatial solutions in this area. This chapter also introduced an analysis of an experimental case-study of houses and flats, "Shinonome Canal Court, located in Tokyo, Japan”

COMPACT CULTURE According to Mitsukuni (1982), flexibility, the taste for symbols, small size - are qualities that come with the tendency for compaction in Japanese culture. These qualities were developed and are improving in Japan due to the need to use a limited space, although these qualities also characterize the aesthetic preferences of the population. Because space is so precious, it receives great attention in all aspects of life. Over the centuries the Japanese have been creating numerous ways to optimize space, in a ingenious ways on a successful combination of pragmatism, harmony and beauty. The fold, stack, wrap, pack, transport, consolidation, miniaturization and transformating are some of the techniques of experience that led to the Compact Culture.

TRADITIONAL SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE POST-WAR JAPAN The Ancient Period (590-1192) was marked by a cultural and economic development and the emergence of more centralized power systems. As a symbol of centralization of power in the system ritsuryō was planned a new capital, a political center, which was based on Chinese urban models built on a orthogonal metric, well organized, oriented along the cardinal points and divided into blocks of square plan. The first urban centers that were created in the model were Heijo in 710 (current city of Nara) and Heian in 794 (now the city of Kyoto). These cities unlike previously, could have developed in large metropolis,

which functioned as not only political centers but also economic, cultural and religious.The population consisted of the imperial court, the aristocracy, by workers, merchants and craftsmen.

The Medieval period (1192-1603) was characterized by the permanent transfer of political power of the court for the military class of samurai. This transformation took place early in the Kamakura period (1192-1333), when Minamoto Yoritomo took control and moved the political center of the city of Heian to Kamakura. However, the city of Heian remained as the economic and cultural center and continues to exercise a great influence on other urban centers. As with the Kyoto town houses and Heian, Kamakura existed in an housing area dedicated to stores, the space used by the inhabitants themselves. It had a flexible structure in the façade, which countered to the street during the day, making it a bench, where they were needed to expose the store sale items and used as a façade cover during the night. Items with higher value were inside, so that sometimes it was necessary for customers to come inside to see then. So the houses began to be separated into two parts, one near the front door more dedicated to commercial space, deeper and with access to communal garden space for the family. This landscaped common area functioned as an extension of the living space where they were a few household chores. The Edo Period (1603-1868) was marked by the country's unification and the end of wars, very present in earlier periods. Farmers and traders have come to play a greater role in the japanese social structure. The appearance of the city Edo (now known as Tokyo) came in 1590 when the Tokugawa Shogunate - the military government led by Leyasu Tokugawa (1542- 1616) established a system in which the country was governed primarily by the shogunate and later by the feudal lords (daimyo), where Edo city functioned as the center of power. The city of Edo was drawn according to social distinctions in terms of geography and architecture. The social segregation was so strong that homes of every social class were built in neighborhoods (machi or cho) separated according to the occupation of the inhabitants, for example there was Daiku-machi (carpenters' quarter), Tatami-machi (neighborhood tatami mats manufacturers), among others.

In the Modern Period (1868-present), the Meiji era is characterized by the devaluation of the systems and traditional Japanese culture, favoring capitalist development and modernization (Westernization). This period also saw the origin of the reinvention of the Japanese model of contemporary architecture as we know it today. The Modern period was marked by strong cultural, political and social Western influences, who followed a strong industrial, economic and technological growth. The succession of various natural disasters and armed conflicts led to the constant process of rapid reconstruction and reorganization.

The Meiji period began with the end of the isolation law and permit the of trade between Japan and the United States through the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce (1858), leading to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the establishment of a system of constitutional monarchy. In 1870, the new government with the aim of promoting industrial development established the Department of Industrial Works (Kobushi) developed the means of transport by land and sea and invested in profissional training.The companies of railway and shipbuilding became fundamental to the country and gained great power since they were the owners of much of the land in Japan

After the 2nd World War, with materials available, it was forbidden to build detached houses in excess of 12 tsubo (1 tsubo = 3.3 m2 or 9.6 m2). The houses for rent had approximately 6.5 tsubo (21.5 m2). In 1950 these restrictions have disappeared and the houses were rethought. The housing policy of the government came to include the home loans (Jutaku kin'yu kōkohō) as a means of promoting the purchase of housing.

Another solution of the Japanese state in response to the severe housing shortage, especially for middle and working class people, was the building of blocks of Danchi Apartments. They marked the beginning of a new era of reformulations, especially in the rethinking of existing spaces, such as the kitchen. With the country needs of more than 4.2 million homes, the Government established the Housing Corporation of Japan (Nihon Kodan Jutaku, now known as the Urban Development Corporation) in 1955 with the aim of building affordable housing, especially for the urban middle class, expanding.

The big challenge intoo occupied areas, is to optimize the space housing / work to the needs, from small lots. Because of these assumptions, it has been necessary to develop new typologies that can better respond to current occupation and sustainability concerns, not giving up comfort conditions nor the aesthetic and functional building.

The year 1989 marked the culmination of one of the fastest economic growth spurts in Japanese history. With the strong currency, the Bank of Japan kept interest rates low, which caused a boom in investment properties in Tokyo led to an appreciation of 60% per annum. In 1991, Japan enter into economic recession and there is the end of the "economy bubble ". Since then Japan has made efforts to improve their situation.

FUTURE OF TOKYO - Fiber Fibercity The Fibercity concept was based on a reflection on the evolution of the population, from the city of Tokyo, during the century XX and its projection for mid-century XXI. It is an overarching concept, developed by architect Hidestoshi Ohno and his team, who prepared a study on how to humanize and make more livable urban spaces.

TYPES OF ACTIVITIES AND ARCHITECTURAL STYLES At this point we refer to the evolution of the spatial organization of traditional Japanese house, particularly the relationship that the spaces set among themselves and with their surroundings. We study physical constructive, space-functional characterists classified by type of uses, functions and activities of various architectural styles that have emerged since the Heian period to the Edo period.

The styles Shinden-zukuri, Shoin-zukuri, Sukiya zukuri, Minka - Noka and Machi-ya, stood out during these periods, and are part of traditional Japanese architecture. These styles directly and indirectly influenced the spatial organization of Japanese households by introducing new venues, including the work space, as well as new decorative elements. Even if not all styles can introduce workspaces, there are needed to complement and contextualize some spatial configurations.

In traditional Japanese architecture, there are four main types of construction: the Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, homes of the aristocracy and houses belonging to the lower classes (artisans, merchants and farmers). These types of construction, had two distinct origins: the prehistoric dwellings and Buddhist architecture from China. These two ancient architectural currents influenced each other and created a mixed style or Japanese style called Wayö. Despite this mutual influence, some basic concepts remained distinct. In this chapter will be addressed only residential architecture.

One of the aspects present in traditional Japanese architecture is its temporary nature, which manifests itself in some architectural and constructive solutions, materials used in homes, in the divisions and in decorative elements. There are several factors that explain the temporary nature, such as frequent fires, earthquakes, high precipitation and obligation of the

feudal lords to have a residence in Edo, in addition to others. Among the many architectural styles stands out machi-ya, that had a key role in the development of housing with work spaces, from the Ancient Period.

MACHI-YA The japanese word machi-ya, is written with two kanji: machi (町), which means "city", and ya (屋 or 家), meaning "house" (家) or "store" (屋) depending on the kanji used to express it. They are Japanese traditional houses made of wood and used primarily by merchants and craftsmen in urban areas. The typoligies of machi-ya, evolved from the adaptation of dwellings noka, from rural areas, in the urban context. Houses were smaller, had rectangular plant that had between 1.5 and 2 tatamis wide (from 2.6 to 3.5 m) by 3 to 4 tatamis long (5.25 - 7m) and areas that had around at most 25 m2. The plots were constructed perpendicular to the tracks, with the shorter side to serve as the exterior façade. The initial machi-ya had two entrances: the main entrance was located on the façade, communicating to the major importance streets and another at the back community patio door, which operated as an extension of living space where they performed some household chores.

"SHINONOME CANAL COURT" - WORK ON HOUSES-APARTMENTS In postwar Japan, many housing blocks started operating as large crowds of people, into piled housing and oriented the nuclear family model. "Shinonome" was a challenge undertaken by six teams of architects, who chose to build six blocks of high density of various types, totaling 2,000 units, with the aim of changing the way of projecting resulting from the unbridled construction from the postwar period. It represents an interesting experiment for new housing solutions, adapted to a new lifestyle, increasingly used in connection with a new type of work (SOHO work from home). Each intervention performed sought to introduce various typoligies, based on "machi-ya", traditional Japanese houses used by traders and artisans, who were until recently in disuse. There is now, by the Japanese architects an intention to restudy the metrics, spatial organization and the relationship that these houses developed with their surroundings, with the goal of enhancing the relationship between the residents in the way of thinking, being and work.

The fourth chapter analyzes the case studies and is organized into 4 parts. At first, it is explained the selection process of twelve contemporary Japanese houses, which include work spaces, as well as the indicators to be chosen to analyze the physical and visual relationships cases. It will be applied the methodology of Space Syntax Hillier and Hanson (1984), and will be used images of buildings, exact drawings, indications of areas of lots, areas of deployment, construction areas, areas of domestic space and work space that can contribute to enrich the analysis process. The second part describes and characterizes each case study and applies the methodology of Space Syntax, synthesizing the data in tables. In the third part we intersect the results and draw conclusions. In a fourth part we summarize and analyze them to extract the main conclusions. This study attempts to relate the type of use, the type of interaction and typology chosen to design the building, and related areas. These indicators will be explained and developed further.

ANALYTICAL METHODS The investigation focused on the analysis of some contemporary case studies, developed by Japanese architects to Japanese customers. These are private homes with only one resident family. All cases include a placeholder to develop a professional activity, which was designed from scratch during the Project phased, unlike the majority of cases existing in our everyday lives, in which the use of space is given over to a subsequent appropriation that was not provided for the use in question. The twelve case studies of Japanese family homes were chosen according to several criteria which relate to the type of use, with the relationship they establish with the exterior and interior, with the number of users and with different levels of exposure and intimacy. We tried to choose a variety of examples within these criteria, including some experimental cases, but always with the concern of choosing projects of single family houses located in large Japanese cities. The cases were selected taking into account the fact that they are quite well known and referenced in the Japanese architectural universe. To analyze the samples, we used several tools such as computer software, virtual and real three-dimensional models, which will be explained later.

SUMMARY OF COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS From the analysis of the case studies we identified some common points to all them. The purpose of this section is to identify the most common features found in homes with work spaces, as particularities observed in the location of the lot on the urban environment, the relationship between the sets of spaces with the exterior, the four types defined and the organization of home and work spaces, clarifying them. Analyses carried out were based mainly on graphics available and not included in situ observations or interviews with current residents to understand the appropriation of spaces, which could eventually contribute to other approaches, enriching the work. We grouped in this synthesis the various indicators assessed in three key areas: Insert the lot in the urban fabric, type of relationship and urban typologies.

INSERTION OF THE LOT IN URBAN AREA TYPES OF RELATIONSHIP TYPOLOGIES

In the fifth chapter is reflected throughout the research, in the search for solutions that relate the typological space of housing and employment.

The introduction of workspaces in homes should be a role model, considering the personal and professional development of each individual. The creation of additional space in a house does not imply a requirement for developing a profession.

The interest in the topic discussed was inserted into this line of action that will seek in future to deepen. The architectural solutions of this kind are currently and mostly related to the practice of professions and services, all activities in which entrepreneurship is the basis of its development. Nowadays, in a society that is always in transformation it is crucial to have key tools that fit more to our way of life. Thus, without ever compromising spatial quality, the architecture of buildings can and should better monitor the needs of each user.