Tokiwadaira Housing Estate Star House
A 'star house', an apartment building with an unusual plan that places units in three directions, built in the late 1950s and early 1960s when Japan's large housing estates were being developed. Seen from above it is shaped like a star (or a Y), and with the stairwell at its center every unit becomes a corner unit, a product of what was then progressive design thinking. Several of these buildings still stand at Tokiwadaira Danchi, and looking up through the geometric stairwell you see an asymmetrical triangular ceiling, a space unlike any other. Visited by housing estate enthusiasts from all over Japan, it is a liminal space born of Showa-era residential architecture. People still live here, so please be considerate and do not point your camera at homes or residents.
See photos and posts for this place on the LIMap map
Nearby liminal spaces
- Asakusa Underground Street (17 km)
- Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station Passage (Model for an Anomaly in The Exit 8) (19 km)
- Gyoko Underground Gallery (21 km)
- Tokyo Station, Keiyo and Musashino Line Passage (22 km)
- Kirigaoka Central Shopping Street (22 km)
- Sunshine City Exhibition Hall A (22 km)
LIMap is a map for finding and sharing liminal spaces: places emptied of people that feel eerie and nostalgic at the same time. Many of these places are private or off-limits, so please follow the notes above and view them only from where you are allowed.