Hasta La Ideas

A cluster of timber-clad boxes are set at varying angles to ensure optimal daylight reaches the interior of this house and artist’s studio in the Japanese town of Oasa.

Architect Jun Igarashi gave the project the name Bending House because of its irregular floorplan, which twists and folds along a plot in a residential neighbourhood.

Igarashi said the main reason for designing the building as a group of linked cuboids was to achieve good lighting conditions throughout the rooms and because “it is possible to create diverse relationships with surrounding environments by distributing boxes.”

The building’s facades are clad entirely in low-cost plywood panels, creating homogenous surfaces which are interrupted only by openings positioned to draw light into the interior.

A main entrance accommodated in a compact volume at the centre of the building connects with larger boxes on either side containing the studio and the main living areas.

The two-storey box housing the studio on its lower floor and a bedroom above is set at an acute angle to the entrance. This volume is oriented so that a large window incorporated into the facade brings north light into the space throughout the day.

The studio is partly submerged into the earth of the sloping site. This means the floor inside is level with the surface of the road, resulting in an increased ceiling height within the space.

The positioning of doorways on either side of the entrance foyer provides a sight line from the living spaces to the studio, while an angled step gives the studio a distinct threshold.

A window offering a view of the rear garden is located at a corner between the foyer and a space containing the kitchen, dining and lounge area.

This double-height room is illuminated be clerestory windows and a double door alongside the dining table that opens onto outdoor decking.

A sunken seating area for watching television accommodated on the other side of the dining space matches the floor height of the studio.

An opening in the wall behind the seating area provides access to a bathroom suite contained in a single-storey box that protrudes towards the driveway at the front of the house.

A twisting, ribbon-like metal staircase ascends to a mezzanine suspended above the living area, which accommodates a small study lined with shelving.

At the opposite end of the mezzanine, a small bedroom housed above the entrance connects with a larger bedroom on top of the studio.

Throughout the property, simple timber joists supporting the first floor and roof are left exposed to add a warm complement to the otherwise minimal palette of concrete and white-painted walls.

Photography is by Sergio Pirrone.

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