MOTÖRHEAD(M-residence)

MOTÖRHEAD is a steel-framed family house with a large garage, set in a low-rise residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Tokyo. It is home to a husband with a deep love for vintage Japanese cars, such as the "Hakosuka" and "Kenmeri" generations of the Nissan Skyline, his wife, their three children, and their three dogs.

The husband's wishes were clear: a good-looking garage to house two cars and one or two motorcycles, and a living room where he could relax while admiring those cars up close. Beyond that, the house simply needed the rooms the family required to live well and function smoothly. Yet fitting a couple, three children, three dogs, three cars, and two motorcycles within the strict regulations of an exclusively low-rise residential zone, while keeping the house comfortable to live in, was like solving a difficult puzzle.

The hardest part was that, beyond the two treasured cars kept in the garage, the house also needed an outdoor parking space for the everyday car and room for a car carrier to pull in. The client also hoped to use this outdoor space for barbecues with friends, with his prized classic cars in view. We studied more than ten layouts. Keeping all of these car spaces accessible from the road, while preserving the relationship between the living room and the garage, both of which faced the road, left only one solution: turning the garage at an angle and creating the outdoor parking space beside it.

The living room and garage are separated by a custom-made glass and steel partition, so that the cars always feel close at hand from the living room. The door into the garage is airtight, and a powerful ventilation fan keeps exhaust and odors out of the living room while leaving the view completely open. We took no particular measures against engine noise; for a petrolhead, after all, that sound is more of a reward. The colors, materials, and furniture of the living room were chosen to resonate with the distinctive atmosphere of the garage, and the steel staircase and the two tables in the living and dining areas were given industrial details that draw the workshop character of the garage into the home.

On the exterior, the residential and garage volumes are clad differently, in monochrome galvanized steel and in cement-like panels, clearly articulating the two. Together with the setback created by angling the garage, this softens the building's bulk and gives it a scale that sits comfortably within the surrounding neighborhood.

After completion, we heard something unexpected. The open steel staircase at the center of the house, between the dining and living areas, has become a favorite spot for the children. They reportedly sit wherever they like on its steps, reading books or playing on their phones. It is the hinge of the whole building, linking the shared family space on the ground floor with each person's private space upstairs. Rather than being shut away in an enclosed stairwell, it sits within an open void that offers just the right sense of enclosure, and that may be what makes it such a naturally comfortable place to be.