This apartment complex built in west Tokyo exemplifies a desire to defy and shake up the normal rules of architecture.

The Reversible Destiny Lofts were designed by Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa, a couple, both of whom were internationally renowned architects and artists, in honour of American author and militant Helen Keller.

Their ‘house-obstacles’ innovate not only through their external appearance but also through the layout of the interior space.

No sense of space or balance

To access the verandas, residents have to bend down or crawl to reach the small door. The narrow interior passages also require residents to be constantly bending and contorting their bodies. Being relatively impractical, indeed illogical, the unusual design of these lofts tends to confuse visitors.

These multicoloured constructions with disparate shapes rethink architecture in all its forms, because there is no sense of space or balance, despite these having always represented the fundamental principles of housing design. These atypical buildings attract an endless stream of visitors, while some are available for residential or short-term rental.

Reversible Destiny Lofts (2005), a project by architects Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.

Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka – In Memory of Helen Keller / Created in 2005 by Arakawa and Madeline Gins / ©2005 Estate of Madeline Gins

Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka – In Memory of Helen Keller / Created in 2005 by Arakawa and Madeline Gins / ©2005 Estate of Madeline Gins

Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka – In Memory of Helen Keller / Created in 2005 by Arakawa and Madeline Gins / ©2005 Estate of Madeline Gins

Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka – In Memory of Helen Keller / Created in 2005 by Arakawa and Madeline Gins / ©2005 Estate of Madeline Gins

Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka – In Memory of Helen Keller / Created in 2005 by Arakawa and Madeline Gins / ©2005 Estate of Madeline Gins

Reversible Destiny Lofts Mitaka – In Memory of Helen Keller / Created in 2005 by Arakawa and Madeline Gins / ©2005 Estate of Madeline Gins

Source

https://pen-online.com/design/the-reversible-destiny-lofts-renowned-for-their-atypical-design/?scrolled=0