Hayama Apartment / ROOVICE

Text description provided by the architects. The 55-year-old apartment is located in the beach town of Hayama, southeast of the ever-popular tourist area of Kamakura on the Miura Peninsula. The owners contacted us with the request to transform the space into a bright and easy-to-take-care home. The apartment building in which it is located, with big windows facing a large garden, had plenty of potential to fulfill their desire.

We opted to unify the interior with bright colors and chose lauan as an accent. Upon client’s request, PVC flooring sheets were used in most of the spaces except for the bedroom and entrance area. We found it to be the ideal material for the case – more durable than cushion floorings and easier to clean than PVC tiles, as there are no joints. We found out that the old wallpaper was weakened by the humid climate of Hayama, so we applied diatomaceous earth on all the walls, for humidity control.

The kitchen used to be enclosed in a small separate room. By removing the partition walls and joining them with the living room, we created an airy space that draws in the outside light and, through the large windows, visually connects to the garden. The new kitchen was made by combining a stainless countertop with custom-made lauan plywood storage units.

The white tile counter, which is set to match the owner’s stainless high chairs, can be used for standing or sitting down depending on the mood. The same tiles have been used to frame the kitchen. Lauan storage cabinets have been installed in the dining area. By designing a custom-made desk that took over 5 meters from the wall of the living room, we wanted to create a place that could be used by the whole family at the same time, side by side. We expected the living room to become a place for work and study and that the family would naturally gather there. We aimed to create a house capturing the atmosphere of Hayama, where time still flows slowly.