Switch by Yuko Shibata

Japanese designer Yuko Shibata created separate living and working areas in this Tokyo apartment by installing two mobile walls.

Called Switch, the project features one partition that slides out over the dining table to create a meeting room on one side and library on the other.

The second bookcase pivots round at the end of the day to reveal a bedroom.

Photographs are by Ryohei Hamda.

Here are some more details from Shibata:

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SWITCH

This is the interior design of a single home office.

This room was previously used as a residential space.

It was the owner’ s intent that the floor plan could be changed to completely separate the living and office sections.

This request was rendered impossible, due to the original structure being of box frame type reinforced concrete construction, with almost all walls acting as supporting building frames.

The addition of two bookshelves, each with a large door, allowed us to create a space with the ability to adapt from home to office or from office to home, while leaving the original floor plan intact.

The first bookshelf was added to the meeting room. By moving the large door, the meeting space can be divided in two.

The space on the side of the bookshelf becomes a library. The large door also includes an opening in order to allow it to pass over the dining table.

In this way, the table is shared between the library and meeting spaces.

The second addition was in the bed room.The opening in the bookshelf creates a passage making it possible to approach the shelf from the office, without passing through the bedroom.

When the door is opened, it creates a partition between the the bedroom and study, and also has the effect of changing the space to a library.

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Principal Use: home and office
Category: Renovation