The Kannai Blade Residence within a Short Walk of The Kannai Train Station in Japan

The Kannai Blade Residence, (Zoom Yokohama Kannai) so-called because its façades are intersected with thin, bladelike concrete fins, sits on a corner site within a short walk of the Kannai Train Station in Japan. The new 11-storey housing block has replaced a previous post-war building. The residence consists of 94 privately-owned studio flats. The individual units are deliberately restrained in size. They are what the Japanese affectionately call “one-room mansions”, suitable for single dwellers or couples with young children. A unit on the top level is spacious with skylights and extra bedrooms.

All flats were decorated with a minimum palette of white, grey and black. In Japan, a balcony is obligatory and a way to incorporate escape ladders to avoid excessive internal staircases – but also allow more space for the flats. 

Each unit has a width of 2.9 metres. The developer took care to make sure that the boilers and air-conditioning units placed outside balconies are discreetly tucked away. Handrails, exterior walls and balcony ceilings have been painted black to accentuate the light grey of the main building. 

When you look at the entire building from the front elevation, the concrete fins appear as sharp as a Samurai’s sword cutting through the air. If you look at the building from the side, you can begin to appreciate the texture of the exposed concrete, changing in appearance depending on the intensity of the light. 

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