Casa Brutus – Number 315: Floor Plan

Casa BRUTUS is a monthly publication from Magazine House. It is a lifestyle and design magazine that presents beautiful living topics such as design, fashion, architecture, gourmet food, travel, art, and more. The magazine is released on the 10th of each month. (Japanese language only!) FLOOR PLAN The Textbook of Floor Plans What defines the ideal, livable floor plan? A special feature packed with insights for home renovations and new builds! For a long time, residential layouts have been built around the "LDK" (Living-Dining-Kitchen) model. While this rational layout—which emerged alongside the mass-market housing boom of the post-war era—became deeply rooted in Japanese living spaces, it is not necessarily the optimal choice today, given the diversification of lifestyles and values. We have gathered examples of floor plan renovations that seek the ideal home—from projects that remove partitions to create a unified "one-room" space, to designs by master architects that incorporate smooth circulation paths, spatial sequences, and openings that invite light and scenery indoors, all the way to the perfect balance of furniture and spatial dimensions for maximum comfort. ONE ROOM Detailed diagrams of floor plan renovations by architects transforming apartment LDKs into open, unified spaces. Koki Akiyoshi (VUILD / Architect) [Kitchen Dimensions] [Opening Design] [Storage Design] [Niche Spaces] [Plumbing/Wet Area Planning] [Details] BASICS Fundamentals of Floor Plans Structural Materials & Openings Substrates & Finishes History of Floor Plans LESSON From dimensional basics to smooth circulation: Lessons on floor plans taught by master architects. The Textbook of Dimensions: ikken The Textbook of LDKs: Keiji Ashizawa The Textbook of Circulation: Yasushi Horibe The Textbook of Windows: Hitotomori CASE STUDY A collection of floor plan renovation case studies that maximize spatial potential. CASE_01 Vintage Apartment Separating public and private zones while gently connecting them via a single organic, curved wall. Yuko Numata (Architect) CASE_02 Industrialized Housing A three-dimensionally continuous layout that expands through the use of atriums and niches. Hideyuki Yamano (Graphic Designer) CASE_03 Kyo-machiya (Traditional Kyoto Townhouse) Leveraging the layout of traditional Japanese architecture to create a space centered on floor-based living. Shinichiro Okuda (WAKA WAKA) CASE_04 Detached House Boldly removing sections of the floor and ceiling to create a home filled with a sense of openness. Ryo Suzuki & Ayumi Koyama (AtMa / Designers) CASE_05 Single-Story Wooden House Rooms situated at the four corners—serving both structural and living functions—surround an open living area. Keita Ebizuka & Eriko Masunaga (AATISMO) Regulars Takashi Homma: TOKYO NEW SCAPES Sho Sakurai: A Journey to Learn About Architecture Princess Akiko: Touring Modern Architecture Tomoki Sukezane: MIRACLE CLOSET Tomomi Nagayama: Design Hunter Keiko Kodera: Restaurant Forecast Yoriko Hoshi: Casa’s Nekomura-san Chill CARS: Well-designed cars loved across generations.