2LDK + ◯— in this house, the 2LDK portion and the + ◯ spaces occupy nearly the same amount of floor area.

The LDK system, created in postwar Japan to rapidly supply housing during a time of acute shortage, became widespread for its clarity and convenience. Yet the very logic that once made it essential now seems to narrow the range of activities we imagine possible at home. Sleeping, cooking, eating, resting — it can feel as though anything beyond these basic functions has no place in the contemporary house.

Before the LDK model took hold, Japanese homes were composed with a different logic: a tatami room that could shift between bedroom and living space, a butsuma for rituals, a doma for work, a guest room for hosting. These spaces accommodated a wider, more fluid set of domestic practices.

For this renovation of a modest home in a quiet residential area of Nerima, we began by asking whether the typical 3LDK layout could be gently redefined for contemporary living with only minimal interventions.

This project reinterprets that mass-housing-era format through the lens of today’s patterns of life.

We removed a few walls and ceilings, replaced certain fittings, and introduced new furniture. By temporarily compressing the familiar sense of a “2LDK,” we opened up opportunities to insert small pockets of space between rooms — places for everyday actions that the LDK model tends to overlook.

These in-between spaces now hold the couple’s work as illustrators and web designers, areas for housework, climbing practice, spots for cats and fish, reading, storage, pull-up exercises, and even a future painting class. A variety of daily activities overlap gently across the home, forming a quiet but rich landscape of living.

In the + ◯ areas, we left columns and beams exposed, creating a structure that the residents can continue to adjust and care for over time. The house is designed with built-in flexibility and room for change — a home that can be cultivated by hand.

We believe a home should be capable of hosting as many forms of everyday life as possible.

This small renovation embodies our hope for such a way of living.