Industry Interview: Satoko Inoue (ReBITA)

SPH99 is a 12-minute walk from nearby Higashi Kanagawa station so it's a little far, but it's at the top of a slightly elevated slope so the first time I went to check out the place I felt as though it was quite close to the sky. You can even see Mt. Fuji on a clear day because there is nothing around to obstruct the view, so I wondered if I could come up with an idea for such an outstanding location.

That's right, these two buildings were originally facing each other so we paid particular attention to how to connect them together. We also tried to use the architectural barrier to our advantage and created a variety of smaller areas within the house. It's great for everyone to hang out together in a large area, but I believe it is also important to have other areas that can be used depending on the tenants mood and purpose.

While there is of course an extensive, spacious lounge essential for a large-scale share-house property, there are days when you just don't feel like hanging out with a whole bunch of people. With this in mind we have created little hideouts in various places throughout the house. For example, there is a mini lounge suitable for small gatherings, a theater room, a relaxing Japanese-style room and even a multipurpose room.

That area is an open terrace between the two buildings so the house feels like its own little town, as I've heard other people in the neighborhood call it. There is also a lawn with a vegetable garden and leisure area from which tenants can hear the laughter of local children.
We also plan to hold events in the future.

What we try to do is kind of leave room to breathe without going overboard. This is because it is the tenants who we want to cultivate the share house environment. We were also conscious of a kind of private atmosphere where tenants don't have to hang out with everyone in the communal areas, yet are not totally disconnected from the others around them.

My previous employment was in an electrical manufacturer's real estate division planning and selling new properties and lots. We would tear down buildings -even if they were relatively new, 20-year old buildings- to make way for new projects starting again from level one, and I felt a kind of opposition to destroying things that could still be used.

That's right. Making use of the original quality of an existing building and restoring it into a new building retaining that history - it's the kind of work I always thought I wanted to do. Or I guess I gradually began to realize it since I was always working with newly-constructed buildings in my previous job. Also, my grandfather worked in construction so I probably always had an underlying awareness of the industry, and somehow formed an interest in it myself.

I actually lived in Canada for 6 months as an exchange student, and during that time I stayed in a large dormitory. Looking back on it now I feel that it was quite similar to a shared housing environment, and I asked myself why there wasn't that kind of culture here in Japan.

I've never thought about it that way, but I guess so. My experiences with previous employment and living overseas must certainly have led me to this current job.

We always run into architectural problems when converting existing properties into share houses, but I personally think that rather than having the freedom to design things as you please it is much more fun working to achieve the best results within the given limitations. But with share houses, it's not simply over when the construction is complete, but rather it begins from there. The best thing about it is communicating directly with the people living in the place you created through events and the like.

Hmm, let's see… if you live in one of the share houses managed by ReBITA, you will find happiness. (laughs) The staff really put their whole hearts into planning and running the houses and I've seen the results with my own eyes! We have had tenants who are like completely different people on the day they finally leave the house compared to when they first arrived! We really want people to gain experiences in the house that add a little bit extra to their lives, so if any of you out there are interested definitely come on over and check out the ReBITA share houses!