A high-end hair salon and family home are separated by a courtyard planted with a single tree in this building designed by Tokyo firm Apollo Architects & Associates in the Japanese city of Hamamatsu (+ slideshow).

Apollo Architects & Associates designed the Fleuve home for a client who required a small salon space from which to operate his business.

"Our design strategy is to minimise the size of the salon, to create a compact and intimate space where the hair stylist gives utmost attention and professional service to the customer," said the architects.

The salon is located at the rear of the house and is surrounded on two sides by glass walls that look out onto a planted garden.

Clients walk around the building from the car park at the front to an entrance at the back, which is protected by large eaves.

A separate door for the owners leads to a turfed internal courtyard with a tree at its centre.

"[The] entrance court with a family symbol tree is specially designed as a transitional zone where the client is able to switch his mood from business to private," the architects explained.

The courtyard adjoins a hallway that connects the owners' entrance with the rest of the rooms on the ground floor, which included the master bedroom, bathroom and wash room.

Also on the ground floor is a room dedicated to the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which looks onto its own small courtyard.

"Our intention is to fill the space with an atmosphere of warm welcome from the hair salon to the tearoom, and in and out of the house," the architects added.

Above the salon is a large roof terrace that can be used to extend the open plan space containing the living, dining and kitchen areas when the family has guests.

Materials including poured concrete, walnut floorboards and built-in cabinetry lend the interior a warm and sophisticated feel.

Apollo Architects & Associates also designed a small house in Tokyo with a long staircase that leads to an entrance on the top floor and a tall, angular house that frames views of a nearby observation tower.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here's some more information from the architects:

Fleuve

The client, who is a hair stylist/a salon owner, requested us to design a house with a hair salon.

It is an exclusive and luxurious hair salon where the salon owner himself provides all services, and the number of clients is limited to only two at the same time.

Our design strategy is to minimise the size of the salon, to create a compact and intimate space where the hair stylist gives utmost attention and professional service to the customer.

On the contrary, we provide the maximum floor area of the house.

The glass-clad salon has a stylish and sharp atmosphere, but the sharpness is softened by greenery in the front yard and low and deep eaves above it.

Lounge for resting is provided as a buffer zone between the hair salon and the house. And entrance court with a family symbol tree is specially designed as a transitional zone where the client is able to switch his mood from business to private.

The client's wife practices tea ceremony, so we design a Japanese room to welcome tea guests, with a compact courtyard (called "Tsubo-niwa" in Japanese) attached.

Our intention is to fill the space with an atmosphere of warm welcome from the hair salon to the tearoom, and in and out of the house.

On the second floor, family room and child's room are divided by the stairs in between. Study room in the middle acts as an intermediate space in between.

Roof of the hair salon becomes a wide roof balcony adjacent to the family room.

It can be used as an extended family room on occasions such as big parties with many guests.

From the windows, one can enjoy the view of the family symbol tree, along with the beautiful background of the adjacent park and trees along the street.

Project details

Location: Hamamatsu city Shizuoka
Date of Completion: May 2013
Principal Use: Private Housing
Structure: Timber
Site Area: 299.99 m2
Building Area: 92.44m2
Total Floor Area: 129.99m2 (81.14m2/1F, 48.85m2/2F)
Structure Engineers: Masaki Structure (Kenta Masaki)
Facility Engineers: Shimada Architects (Zenei Shimada)
Construction: K.K.DEN co.,ltd.

Material Information
Exterior Finish: Lithing Spraying
Floor: Walnut Flooring
Wall: Wall Paper
Ceiling: Wall Paper