Project 2- Takeshi Hosaka
1. project name
Daylight House
2. Architect
Takeshi Hosaka
3. Client
Undisclosed- private house
4. Location
Yokohama, Japan
5. About the project
The daylight house by Takeshi Hosaka was a project undertaken in 2011. The house is situated in Yokohama, a densely populated Japanese city south of Tokyo. From the beginning this posed challenges to the design with a population of 3.75 million people this also results in a dense and highly compact compacted construction industry with many high rise buildings in the surrounding area. The aim was to construct a residential private property for a family of 4 with one of the main considerations in the design was access to daylight. The site in question is surrounded by a mixture of detached dwellings and 10-floor condominiums and office buildings that left the Architects limited to their exposure to natural light from your average source such as the common window. To combat this obstacle Takeshi Hosaka pivoted his attention towards
the light streaming down from the sky above viewing it as precious at this point deciding to avail of Zenithal light the natural light that we receive from above.
Given that the four walls within this building have been made redundant due to the compat nature of the site Takeshi Hosaka resorted to the final surface that he could extrude daylight from, the ceiling.
Beginning by laying out a basic grid 1500mmx1600mm over the site it was then decided to construct a single height open planned structure incorporating 29 skylights into the ceiling dominating 700mm squared of the total roof area (17). Within this designated skylight area Takeshi Hosaka made use of
Curved translucent acrylic panels to cover the entire ceiling. With the decision to use a translucent material only some of the light passes through each panel. The light does not pass directly through the panel. It changes direction many times and is scattered as it passes through this is due to the translucent material being made up of components with different indices of refraction (18).
As a result the Daylight house is illuminated by a soft diffused light after a series of tests and mock ups in order to determine the optimum size and colour of the acrylic panels achieved through the process of model making and mock ups. Upon the completion of the project the Daylight house now basks in some form of zenithal light 24 hours a days obtaining light from the lunar cycle throughout the night until the sun rises flooding the space throughout the day, an positive family home and outcome in what can only be described as a pessimistic situation in term of daylight.
6. About the Architect
Takeshi Hosaka was born in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan in 1975. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Architecture from yokohama national university in 1999. From this point he then progressed to achieve his masters in 2001 at the same university proceeding to establish Takeshi Hosaka Architects in 2004.
Takeshi has worked on various architectural fields such as small houses,restaurants,church,nursery school,commercial facilities,cemetery and so on. He endeavors to create architecture with elements of global environments. With his passion for environmentally friendly design this has led him to be particularly disposed to the field of natural natural light such as direct sunlight, indirect skylight and moonlight in the site determined to assure each element was carefully observed and taken into the architecture effectively availing of the resources we have at our disposal. In addition, some of his architecture is aimed to create a dynamic landscape with nature so that his designs serve a multifunctional purpose. This purpose is to be environmentally sustainable by availing of our surroundings while also loved by visitors and locals (19).
7. About the location
Yokohama, a Japanese city south of Tokyo, has developed as a result of a strong trading culture being established as one of the first Japanese ports opened to foreign trade, in 1859 becoming a base for commerce evolving from a humble fishing village into an industrial hub for foreign trade(20).
Yokohama, given its relatively low latitude of the 35th parallel and protection of the mountains in the east from siberian winds, result in a relatively stable climate. Yokohama experiences an average low of 5 to 7 degrees with summer highs of 35 degrees in conjunction with hot muggy summer days. Rainfall is abundant receiving on average around 1600mm per year
With regards to the light characteristics of Yokohama they receive on average a high of 14.5 hours of daylight in June and a low of 9.5 hours in the month of December (20). The characteristics of the local light is generally delivered as diffuse light, this is as a result of Mie Scattering Occurs when light hits something larger such as water particulate in clouds or human activity such as smoke or pollution large enough to scatter all visible wavelengths more or less equally. This takes place in Yokohama due to its industrial nature as a Trading point with high volumes of transport taking place and other secondary activities contributing to the pollution of the air that surrounds Yokohama.
8. Critique of the project
Although I have much admiration for Takeshi Hosaka and his design of the daylight house, one critique I would be partial to mentioning is the lack of views. I respect that in some senses his hands were tied due to the tightly compacted building site however this did not rule out the incorporation of a window entirely it merely made the task more difficult. My reason for insisting on the incorporation of windows lies in the benefits of having a view and the mental stimulation that comes with it even if that view is merely of the road outside. A view to the outdoors has also been shown to be beneficial to the health and well-being of building occupants, not just because it refocuses and relaxes the eyes and provides daylight, but because it also satisfies our primal need for safety inside while being able to see what dangers might lie outside (20). Additionally a view is said to increase the sense of wellbeing contributing to a healthy circadian rhythm and increasing productivity.
10. Additional information
In addition to the Acrylic panels making use of natural zenithal light to illuminate the Daylight house they also serve a secondary benefit.There is an air space included within the design situated between the acrylic surface and the roof, and forced air is used to eject air heated by the sun in summer out of the building, while movement of the air is stopped in winter to use the air layer as a thermal buffer to ensure the thermal environment indoors is stable (21). As a result of this the house benefits not only from clever use of materials to diffuse light but also the monetary benefits of using natural light to heat and insulate a home.
Bibliography
17. [Accessed 24 October 2020]
17.1 .Architizer. 2020. Daylight House. [online] Available at: <https://architizer.com/projects/daylight-house/>
[Accessed 24 October 2020]
18. En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Transparency And Translucency. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparency_and_translucency> [Accessed 24 October 2020].
19. Hosaka, T., 2020. 保坂猛 建築都市設計事務所. [online] TAKESHI HOSAKA architects. Available at: <http://www.hosakatakeshi.com/japanese/about_us/about_us.html> [Accessed 24 October 2020].
20. d.o.o., Y., 2020. Yokohama, Japan - Detailed Climate Information And Monthly Weather Forecast | Weather Atlas. [online] Weather Atlas. Available at: <https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/japan/yokohama-climate#daylight_sunshine> [Accessed 24 October 2020].
21. Hosaka, T., 2020. 保坂猛 建築都市設計事務所. [online] TAKESHI HOSAKA architects. Available at: <http://www.hosakatakeshi.com/japanese/about_us/about_us.html> [Accessed 24 October 2020].
