Gifu Kitagata housing, Takahashi wing
Project commissioner, Mr. Arata Isozaki, assigned four women architects for this project of reconstructing old public housing. The following is excerpt from his comments:
“The public housing played an important role in the economic policy, which urged people to own home. During this period home ownership scheme was placed as a centerpiece of economic development. The problem was that they only focused on ‘quantity’ or how many numbers of housings are made every year, without considering ‘quality” or living environment of citizens.  It can be said that this ‘quantity-oriented ‘ way of thinking represents “male principle”. And ‘quality-oriented ‘ way of thinking can be regarded as “female principle”, in which housing is considered as “container for human life”.
Based on this “female principle”, we started designing from inside to outside.  First we made unit plans, and secondly determined various combination of units, then finally we decided overall planning of the housing.  This can be called ‘bottom-up’ design process, on the contrary to ‘top-down’ decision process of “male principle”.
Four wings designed by each architect are placed around the central courtyard.  Takahashi wing is located on the north-west side. 
Our housing unit plan resembles a Chinese character “田”, meaning rice field, which is close to typical plan of traditional farm houses. In this plan, ‘empty’ cubic space is loosely divided by sliding screen and furniture, and space can be opened or closed according to lifestyle of residents.
We did not set any particular function and boundaries in this unit plan, as we wanted to let residents control their own way of life, before architecture forces us to particular action or to particular place.  This “rice field” plan is not by any means sentimental return to old way of life, but we wanted to propose a breakthrough against rigid and conventional housing plans.
‘Doma’ or shoe-wearing zone is provided between exterior corridor (shoe- wearing zone) and housing units (shoe-free zone ). It is used as interior corridor, and at the same time act as buffer zone between private and public domains, and provide path for natural ventilation and light.