Nendo-designed 'Stairway House' offers connected living for three generations

Japanese-based firm Nendo has completed a novel three-story two-family home in Tokyo. With three generations of the same family sharing the space, the living quarters for the older couple is situated on the 1st floor, while the 2nd and 3rd levels house the younger couple and their child. 

Spanning from the front yard ground level to the peak of the third floor is an expansive "stairway-like" structure that penetrates through the building. Offering separation with a degree of preserved connectedness.

Inside the stairway are usable spaces such as bathrooms and an actual usable staircase. Concrete was used for the exterior steps while steel makes up the interior steps. 

The south elevation, which contains the protruding stairway, offers full-height glazing, allowing natural daylight into the home while further solidifying the continuous effect of the extruded steps.