| Project | Pasadena Heights |
| Architect | Kikutake, Kiyonori |
| City | Pasadena Heights (Mishima) |
| Country | Japan |
| Address | 5-6 Km north of Mishima |
| Building Type | Terrace |
| Number of Dwellings | c. 150 |
| Date Built | 1974 |
| Dwelling Types | terrace flats |
| No. Floors | 5 |
| Section Type | gallery access flats |
| Exterior Finish Materials | concrete, metal windows |
| Construction Type | R-C concrete, concrete block |
| Ancillary Services | parking, recreation center, tennis courts |
Mishima is the sister city to Pasadena, hence the name of this area, Pasadena Heights. The area has been developed largely as an district of vacation houses in a heavily wooded region an hour or so by train from Tokyo. Typically, these vacation residences have taken the form of single, small houses scattered about the landscape. Kikutake's project is in sharp contrast to this. About 150 terraced dwellings roughly follow the contours of the hillside, stepping down in 5 tiers on a south-facing slope. Several public stairs perpendicular to the slope connect terrace levels. At each terrace here is a wide pedestrian walkway from which entrance is made to each dwelling through a walled courtyard. The courtyard connects to a breezeway passing beneath the terrace above. The kitchen and bath have windows to the terrace side of the dwelling with kitchen, dining and living opening via large sliding glass doors to the breezeway area. A light well from the terrace above lets light into this area as well as lighting the bath room of the adjacent dwelling above Two bedrooms are placed at the rear of the apartment. One of these gets light from the breezeway area but one looks to space beneath the building on the side away from the terrace. At the upper terraces, parking is placed in this rear space where there is auto access from above. Stairs connect from the parking area up into the breezeways. The interesting spatial organization of long narrow terraces that have defined volumes extending both above and below the main living level are offset somewhat by the less interesting large open spaces in front of each dwellings that are separated from the pedestrian walk only by a low wall. Various recreational facilities including a small amphitheater and tennis courts have been placed in the open space at the foot of the hill.
Metabolist Kiyonori Kikutake, (private publication no date)
The Japan Architect, June, 1975, pp. 19-40
Bauen + Wohnen, March 1975, pp. 115-116.
Kenchiku Bunka, March, 1975, pp. 63-74.
