Japanese architect Eto Kenta has hidden a narrow garden behind the metal-clad exterior of this house in Ōita Prefecture, Japan (+ slideshow).
The two-storey house is situated on the border between a residential neighbourhood and a grassy plain, so Eto Kenta designed a building that is closed at the front and open at the back, and named it Cave.
To the street, the building presents a wall with only two openings – a large high-level window allowing light to permeate the garden tucked behind and a doorway leading to the entrance. In this way, the facade protects the interior from prying eyes.
The narrow garden sits directly behind the wall, ahead of a large room that functions as a living space and kitchen for the family.
“Raising a large opening on the south side allows lighting and ventilation into the house, but also ensures privacy from the neighbouring houses,” said Kenta.
Sliding walls allow the living room to open out to the secluded garden. These are mirrored by a row of rear windows that slide back to reveal the interior to the field beyond.
“By operating the opening and closing in relation to the outer and inner space, we create both open and private places,” said Kenta.
A lightweight steel staircase leads up to the first floor, where three rooms sit alongside one another to create a series of bedrooms.
Two of these bedrooms feature windows overlooking the garden, while the third opens out to a patio contained behind the walls.
A second patio is located at the back and a small study provides residents with a quiet workspace facing out over the fields.
This zigzagging house in Australia by Iredale Pedersen Hook is raised above the ground on stilts to minimise its impact on the native landscape and wildlife (+ slideshow).
The holiday home was designed by Australian studio Iredale Pedersen Hook for a site near the town of Nannup. Situated between a forest and a flood plain, the area provides a habitat for local fauna including emus, kangaroos and snakes.
The house was given a cranked layout to create different experiences along its length. It was also lifted off the ground to enhance views and reduce disruption to the site.
“This is a holiday house, a place of temporary inhabitation that offers a variety of experiences and relationship to the native landscape,” said the architect. “Spaces are strung in a line, an open-ended line that allows one to enter, exist and then leave and continue.”
The kinked plan optimises different views of the forest on one side and the horizon on the other. It accommodates outdoor living areas, including an enclosed balcony at the rear of the property and a pointed terrace that projects towards the flood plain.
Windows on the angled facades alternate between vertical apertures that make the most of the view towards the nearby trees and longer openings overlooking the plain.
The use of the stilts and their diagonal cross-braces references the fallen trees that are a common feature around the forest edge, while the material palette used for the exterior references its natural setting.
“Materials were carefully selected to dialogue with the context,” the architects explained. “Dark Colorbond steel, rusting steel and recycled jarrah [wood] contributes to the notion of the building as ‘shadow’.”
Long steel grate ramps lead to an entrance at one end of the house and a balcony at the other, continuing past the master bedroom and main living areas to the sheltered terrace.
The main entrance opens into a dark corridor that meanders past bedrooms, a laundry and a study, before reaching the two terraces on either side of the bright, open-plan living and dining room.
The architects said they wanted to enhance the experience of moving between interior and exterior spaces by emulating the experience of “wandering through a forest in and out of darkness and openness.”
Richly textured, dark jarrah wood used on the floor of the corridor contrasts with the bright living spaces, while carefully chosen colours and textures were introduced throughout the interior to evoke the natural surroundings.
Treated plantation pine was used for 90 per cent of the building’s framework and recycled local timber features on the outdoor decks as well as internal flooring and storage.
Photovoltaic panels on the roof supply the home’s power and a solar-powered system heats its water, which includes rainwater captured from the roof.
Here’s a project description from Iredale Pedersen Hook:
Nannup Holiday House
The Nannup Holiday house forms part of a wandering path through the landscape from Perth to Nannup. This path dialogues with the landscape of intense forest, meandering river and rolling hills, each experience is carefully choreographed to enrich the occupancy of the house. A Jeykll and Hyde experience of the landscape is carefully controlled through oscillating vertical (forest) and horizontal (horizon) openings and the contrast of grounded and floating experiences. While the exterior dialogues with the numerous fallen trees, the interior is revealed through a sequence of ‘growth rings’ coded and extruded in relation to the building program.
Program Resolution
This is a holiday house, a place of temporary inhabitation that offers a variety of experiences and relationship to the native landscape. Spaces are strung in a line, an open-ended line that allows one to enter, exist and then leave and continue. The house is part of a broader and longer experience that constitutes the experience of being on ‘holiday’, the travel to and from the site and the experience of visiting local towns and tourist attractions are then contemplated and celebrated in the context of this residence. Spaces are organised to provide a sense of seclusion and retreat, guests view the forest from a distance through vertical windows, the boys view the horizon and rolling hills through shared horizontal openings and the parents almost touch the natural landscape. These areas are collected by a dark, twisting and cranking space clad in recycled jarrah that oscillates between interior and exterior creating a sense of ambiguity and wondering through a forest in and out of darkness and openness. Outlook from this space is carefully controlled to provide detailed relief, openings also align to view through interior to exterior to interior and back to exterior.
Built form context relationship
The building hovers above the native landscape minimising disturbance, it is a shadow to the immense forest, cranking in plan and undulating in section. The plan twists in relationship to program requirements and variety of views. The section undulates in direct dialogue to the backdrop forest enriching the spatial experience with variety and complexity; spatial proportion varies between rooms capturing the verticality of the forest and the horizontality of the horizon.
It sits between the edge of the forest and the edge of the flood plain, the space between fire and flood, a fragile zone of existence. The ground level is dominated by roaming wild pigs (the size of humans), tiger snakes, dugites and other less threatening native fauna including emus and kangaroos. The elevated house with access via the steel grate ramps creates a safe retreat to observe nature.
Materials were carefully selected to dialogue with the context, dark Colorbond steel, rusting steel and recycled Jarrah contributes to the notion of the building as ‘shadow’. This concept continues internally, the main passage being dark and an extension of the exterior (recycled Jarrah) and primary living spaces being lighter and more connected to the exterior (recycled WA Blackbutt). Small fragments of intense colour capture the colours of the forest undergrowth.
Integration of Allied Disciplines
The core building team camped on site during construction; it became an obsession, highly crafted and full of pride. Our structural engineer also travelled regularly to site while visiting his own holiday farm in the vicinity. His knowledge of local conditions and contractors was highly valued. The project enjoyed a high level of respect and collaboration between all teams; this is reflected in the end result.
Sustainability
This project offers a holistic approach to environmental sustainability commencing with design and placement of access paths. The vehicle access path is placed along the site edge an area that requires annual clearing for the firebreak. This enables us to minimise the clearing of land. The materials required to build the access path were quarried from the site (gravel and clean yellow sand). These areas were immediately rehabilitated with plant species already existing on the site.
The house was sited and designed to minimise clearing of bush and removal of trees. The area under the house is then free for re-introducing local species and will be fed by the grey water recycling.
Materials were selected based on a life cycle analysis of embodied energy, Colorbond cladding provides a durable exterior core and inhabited areas include recycled Jarrah and recycled WA Blackbutt. Timber off cuts was re-used for storeroom linings.
The building structure is 90% treated plantation pine and most furniture constructed from hoop pine plantation plywood. The structure was mostly pre-fabricated to minimise building waste.
The long roof form increases the capacity to capture rainwater, this is re-used in the house. Grey Water is recycled for garden watering under the house. Water is heated from a solar hot water system with back up instantaneous gas hot water systems located close to areas of water use to minimise water waste. Water consumption is reduces with rated fixtures and fittings.
Photo Voltaic cells balanced over the year easily cover consumption requirements. Power consumption is minimised through energy efficient equipment, use of LED and Compact Fluorescent globes and feature wall mounted light fittings manufactured from plantation plywood.
Applied coatings are minimised and generally Low Voc or oil.
Architects: Iredale Pedersen Hook architects Architectural Project Team: Adrian Iredale, Finn Pedersen, Martyn Hook, Drew Penhale, Caroline Di Costa, Jason Lenard, Matthew Fletcher Structural Engineer: Terpkos Engineering Builder: Brolga Developments and Construction
This bright white house in Portugal by GSMM Architetti uses the trees on its hillside site to create a sense of intimacy, providing a counterbalance for the openness of its central courtyard (+ slideshow).
Miles away from the nearest town, the single-storey House in Quinta do Carvalheiro was designed by local studio GSMM Architetti as a quiet retreat that has as little impact on the landscape as possible.
“This is a holiday house; a place to renovate energy, to get close to the wild nature, to live in a different way. A place to be alone, for meditation or to be among friends,” architect Monica Margarido told Dezeen.
“Our translation was to design a house where spaces were defined by transparency and reflection of the landscape, to feel protected but at the same time to feel emerged into the forest,” she added.
Cork oak and pine trees surround the house and help to shade it from the sun. “The dense cork trees that surround the house provide intimacy,” said Margarido.
The house has a square plan with a courtyard at its centre, offering residents an uninterrupted view of the skies.
“You lay down on the patio and you dive among thousands of stars, in your transparent envelope,” explained architect Giorgia Conversi, who also worked on the project.
An expansive living area runs along the southern side of the house. Sliding glass panels line two walls, allowing the space to open out to both the courtyard and surroundings.
A fireplace separates the living area from the kitchen. There is also a sheltered terrace where residents can dine al fresco.
Two north-facing bedrooms sit on the opposite side of the courtyard, while a master suite and guest bedroom run along the eastern side of the house.
Here’s some text from the architect Giorgia Conversi:
House Quinta Do Carvalheiro, São Francisco da Serra, Portugal
A new presence in the light and shade of cork trees. Clean and sharp. I’m here. I’m here, but let me cross. Occupy a space without closing. Play changing face between the white presence and the absence of glass: let me cross from the shadows of branches and give back their image to the around gnarled trunks.
Quinta do Carvalheiro is another way of living. Enter and you’re still out. In the middle of the trees. In every point the look finds the way to project far away.
The walls are a pause between a glimpse and other. A border to cross, like all boundaries. A unit of measure for the space that extends around.
A challenge to the concept of “locked at home”. Within four walls. In ourselves. The house doesn’t obscure the view but reveals it. Doesn’t take away the other, doesn’t take away the sky. But is there.
The first day is alienation. The second you start to feel it, the Quinta: is of few words but is there. The third: you lay down on the patio and you dive among thousands of stars, in your transparent envelope. Protected but free. The fourth, you realize that you can change perspective. Look inside. And, as a game of mirrors, seek your hidden corner.
An open house, first of all, to mental disposition. Open to people who arrive, to changing light, to curious insects, to the moon peeping from the hill, to ideas, to the next new discovery.
Kicking Horse Residence, which was named as one of the ten recipients of the American Institute of Architects‘ 2014 Housing Awards earlier this week, was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson as a weekend retreat that can accommodate the family and their guests, but can also be left unoccupied for long periods of time.
“The clients desired a weekend gathering place for their active family of five that would allow for flexibility to accommodate larger groups of family and friends, and provide a direct connection to the outdoors for seasonal recreation,” said the architect.
A forest of aspen and spruce trees surrounds the site, so timber was chosen as the primary building material. But unlike the typical wooden lodges of the region, the house features an angular structure intended to reflect the clients’ Scandinavian heritage.
“The Kicking Horse Residence is a family retreat that uses evocative forms to embrace the natural world,” said the architect.
The three-storey house is made up of two wings, connected by a central staircase. The largest of the two is an asymmetric volume accommodating the main living and sleeping spaces, while its rectilinear partner contains a family room offering views of the mountain peaks.
The building nestles into the slope of the site, creating entrances on both the lower and middle levels. The first functions as the main access and the second is a landing providing access to nearby ski and bicycle trails.
Bedrooms are scattered throughout the house. Three sleeping spaces are located in the loft, while two master bedrooms sit at opposite ends of the middle storey, creating a cantilever at the front of the building.
The base of the house is surrounded by concrete and contains a garage, a mudroom and a play space for the children.
Here’s a project description from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson:
Kicking Horse Residence
The clients desired a weekend gathering place for their active family of five that would allow for flexibility to accommodate larger groups of family and friends and provide a direct connection to the outdoors for seasonal recreation. They requested careful arrangement of the program to maintain privacy on the narrow lot between two neighbouring residences, while focusing on the views and providing direct access to nearby ski and bike trails.
While Kicking Horse Mountain resort is a relatively new ski destination, the majority of the custom homes in the area still take the form of traditional timber structures. The clients appreciated the intimate scale and warmth of traditional mountain lodges but wished to explore the possibility of creating a Modernist cabin more rooted in their Scandinavian heritage that connected directly to the landscape. The sloping site is adjacent to a ski trail and surrounded by a forest of aspen and spruce trees. Located between two neighbouring residences, the careful arrangement of program maintains privacy through the thoughtful composition of windows, while focusing on the views and providing access to the nearby ski and bike trails.
The house is composed of two primary elements: a dense bar along the northern edge of the site containing the sleeping and bath spaces, and an open shell with living and dining spaces oriented toward the extraordinary mountain views. A central stair volume links these two forms, with the main entrance at the lower level and an upper landing for ski access on the west side.
The linear form of the sleeping spaces cantilevers over a board-formed concrete base containing the garage, mudroom, and playroom. A standing seam metal roof folds over the peak to become an articulated wall with operable vents, bringing light and air into the loft spaces. These lofts contain bunk beds that allow flexible sleeping arrangements for children or guests.
Anchored by a tall concrete fireplace, the geometric form containing the living and dining spaces floats above the forest floor, allowing natural drainage patterns to flow uninterrupted through the site. Plywood-clad walls and ceiling planes extend to the exterior, framing alpine views and sheltering an outdoor deck.
Given its function as a weekend retreat, the house was designed to perform for extended periods without occupancy. The design inherently reduces exposure to natural drainage patterns by limiting the building footprint, and we worked directly with the contractor to detail the below grade drainage system to perform most efficiently for the soils on site. Electrical, heating, and security systems are monitored and controlled remotely so the client is made immediately aware of any issues, and an emergency generator was supplied in case of power outage.
The evocative forms of the house are oriented to capture daylight and views to the stunning mountain peaks above, but also act to effectively shed snow from the massive storms that move through the area. The client chose a local general contractor, native to the Golden, BC area, with a long history of building in remote areas. They enjoy both the craft involved in building intricate wooden structures from locally sourced timbers and also heading outdoors after a day of hard work.
Wood is a primary natural resource in this region. The local Louisiana Pacific Mill is a lifeline for the town of Golden, and a project goal was to express the natural diversity of wood in the architecture.
This house in London by local studio De Matos Ryan sits within a sunken courtyard, surrounded by a secret flower garden (+ slideshow).
De Matos Ryan designed The Garden House for a pair of newlyweds who wanted extra living space for their seven children.
Situated in the garden of their Victorian house in Battersea, the new two-storey building was originally planned as an annex for the eldest children, but was redesigned to be more flexible following the arrival of a new baby.
“Given its location, we wanted the house to be distinctly different from the original house, bringing an element of surprise and delight when you discover it at the end of the garden,” architect Angus Morrogh-Ryan told Dezeen.
“The house is set within a sunken modernist courtyard garden, which allows its owners to escape the dramas of London and relax in a serene and calm setting,” Morrogh-Ryan explained.
Flowerbeds border the house and a canopy of trees offers privacy from the neighbouring properties. A secret raised garden also lies beyond the courtyard and features a hot tub at its centre.
The lower storey and courtyard are sunken below ground level, while a bridge connects the street to the main entrance above.
High-rise courtyard walls protect the property from risk of flooding by the nearby River Thames, framing an outdoor space where the family’s youngest children can play within sight of their parents.
On the ground floor, the outside wall continues into the property and glazed doors slide open to reveal an open-plan living and dining room.
A master bedroom faces the courtyard from this floor, while upstairs bedrooms are filled with natural light from skylights overhead.
“When designing for a family, the role of the architect is to create the right conditions; providing the best structuring of space with ventilation and light and to allow the family and their own personal preferences to flourish, bringing individual character and personality through use,” added Morrogh-Ryan.
Spotlights dotted around the courtyard light up the exterior at night.
De Matos Ryan has completed The Garden House, a new 179 sq m house at the far end of the rear garden of a Victorian house in Battersea, South West London.
A modern family conundrum was the unexpected catalyst for the creation of the new annex – the immediate need of a newly married couple bringing two families together and requiring additional space to accommodate seven children.
The practice was originally briefed to create a garden annex to replace a potting shed and greenhouse that the older children could move in to. The arrival of an eighth child midway through the design stages prompted a rethink of this arrangement and resulted in a change of plan; the calm and convenience of the new annex was deemed to be the ideal retreat for parents with a new baby and younger children whilst the main house would become the older children’s domain.
The design of The Garden House has been driven by three challenges including the clients’ ambitious requirement for increased space, the need to incorporate compulsory flood-proofing measures due to the site’s close proximity to the River Thames, as well as complying with planning restrictions to prevent the overlooking of neighbouring properties.
The new house comprises five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study and a kitchen/living room. The garden was excavated to create a high-sided watertight concrete courtyard, which increased the floor plate of the property without affecting the single storey appearance at garden level. The living areas are at courtyard level and benefit from full height glazing; the bedrooms are arranged at first floor level in clean white volumes that gently float above the glazing.
A bridge at garden level bisects the white box and marks the entrance to the property. Windows are discreetly located on the side and rear elevations to comply with planning restrictions and frame views out. A combination of internal lightwells and rooflights ensure that the bedrooms are flooded with natural daylight. Top lit hallways and bathrooms connect the volumes.
It is the sunken courtyard, characterised by white pigmented concrete walls and floor that defines The Garden House and lends the house an exotic sensibility. Sliding doors open up the corner of the house offering a seamless transition to a tranquil enclosed landscape.
A concrete tunnel slices through the base of this Tokyo house by Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada, creating a round hole in the facade that reveals the underside of a staircase (+ slideshow).
Makiko Tsukada designed Tunnel House for a site facing a T-junction, so her concept was to produce a form that appears as a continuation of the road. The result is a curving container that cuts through the entire ground floor.
“Our design intention is to provide a visual extension of the street on the site so that it creates a virtual crossroads,” said Tsukada.
The rest of the house is planned around the tunnel, creating a series of unusual features that include a floating steel floor, a dining table beneath a staircase, a triple-height courtyard and a bedroom without a ceiling.
The architect categorises these spaces as uchi, which means “in the tunnel”, and soto, which means “out of the tunnel”.
“One of the visitors’ comments was that ‘tunnel-uchi’ and ‘tunnel-soto’ betray one’s sense of space, as one feels like being outside while actually being inside the house,” she explained.
A glazed wall exposes the full outline of the tunnel from the house’s entrance. Inside, the structure is revealed to be wrapping around a pair of lidless boxes that contain the main bedroom and bathroom.
“From the bedroom box, one can see the view of the entire ‘tunnel-uchi’ space as if seeing an exterior view from a rooftop,” said Tsukada.
Two double-height spaces behind the curving concrete accommodate a small study and a toilet. Glass doors lead out from spaces into the simple courtyard, which is sandwiched in between.
A staircase leads up onto the top of the tunnel, which doubles as a mezzanine walkway. Residents can then access a guest bedroom and dining room, located on the suspended steel floor that provides the uppermost storey.
The dining table sits over the stairwell and has a mirrored underside that creates upside-down reflections.
Photography is by Shinkenchiku-sha.
Read on for a project description from Makiko Tsukada:
Tunnel House
The site is at the end of a T-junction. Our design intention is to provide a visual extension of the street on the site so that it creates a virtual cross road. The interior space and the exterior space are connected by carving out a part of the volume along the extended axis of the street. The tunnel-like configuration is intended to activate both “uchi” (in the tunnel) and “soto” (out of the tunnel) spaces.
The open side of the quarter cylinder is enclosed by glass. The “tunnel-uchi” comprises two small boxes containing a bedroom and a bathroom respectively. The bedroom is enclosed by screen-like partitions and its ceiling is open. From the bedroom box, one can see the view of the entire “tunnel-uchi” space from there as if seeing an exterior view from a rooftop.
The opening at the side of the tunnel is connected to the “tunnel-soto” space. “Tunnel-soto” space is an interior space where the light that is cascading down along the tunnel surface from the oblong top light and the light coming down from the courtyard intersect each other three-dimensionally.
When going up the stairs, one can see the entire “tunnel-soto” space. From the gap of the floating steel floor, one can see the reflected image of “tunnel-soto” space on the mirrored surface on the rear side of the tabletop on the second floor. The floating steel floor and the super-thin 6mm thick table give the space a surreal atmosphere of floating and expansion, while creating a sharp contrast with the immense volume of the tunnel.
One of the visitors’ comments was that “tunnel-uchi” space and “tunnel-soto” spaces betray one’s sense of space, as one feels like being outside while actually being inside the house. By experiencing repeated reversals of the interior and the exterior spaces (betrayed feelings), one probably can feel a sense of expansion and openness in this tunnel house.
Location: Suginami-ku, Tokyo Structure: Reinforced Concrete and Steel Principal Use: Residence, Office Site Area: 82.39m2 Total Floor Area: 87.17m2 (43.65m2/1F, 43.52m2/2F) Structural Engineer: Taizen Nieda and Taizo Komatsu
An austere concrete wall screens the transparent lower floor of this house in southern Brazil, while the overhanging upper storey is masked behind a layer of timber slats (photos by Leonardo Finotti + slideshow).
Designed by MAPA, an architecture collective based in Brazil and Uruguay, XAN House is a summer residence located near the beach in Xangrilá, a small town south of Porto Alegre.
The ground floor is dedicated to the family’s communal activities while the upstairs level contains bedrooms, and the architects chose to highlight this difference through the use of different external materials.
A single-storey concrete wall stretches across the site, from the north-west to the south-east, screening the ground floor from the street. Behind it, the rest of the walls feature floor-to-ceiling glazing that allows residents to open their living spaces out to the landscape.
“A summer house is a space full of freedom, a place to enjoy an outdoor life,” said the architect. “This fact conditioned the way the project was faced.”
The positioning of furniture divides the space up into different zones for cooking, dining, reading and relaxing. The ceiling overhead is exposed concrete, while the floor is covered with tiles that continue outside the walls.
Upstairs, large balconies extend the length of the floor, creating overhangs that shelter both the front entrance and a rear patio. One balcony belongs to the master bedroom and en suite, while the other sits alongside two smaller bedrooms.
Both balconies and rooms are surrounded by the timber screen, but sections of it fold open to reveal windows.
The glass-walled living areas of this house in Paredes, Portugal, are sandwiched between a top floor wrapped in opaque panels and a basement clad in rugged shale tiles (+ slideshow).
Named 07CBE House, the building was designed by local architecture studio Spaceworkers to create a home for a young family, with communal living spaces separated from the bedrooms and service areas.
The architects based their response on the design of traditional barns that feature a monolithic base for threshing – the process of beating grain to separate it from the chaff. This informed a series of pillars supporting a roof that appears to hover above the landscape.
“In the region, most vernacular buildings that punctuate the landscape are barns supporting agricultural activities, which normally rise from the floor using a pillar structure to create a sense of lack of gravity,” architect Henrique Marques told Dezeen.
“It was this tripartition of a monolithic base, an empty space that turns out to be functional, and a constructed element that stands out in the landscape giving a sense of protection and at the same time structural weakness that fascinated us,” Marques added.
The monolithic structure at the base of the house contains functional facilities including a garage, laundry, storage room and a swimming pool.
This level is predominantly clad in black shale tiles with a raw texture that enhances the rugged and utilitarian aesthetic.
The tiles contrast with the warm ipe wood used to clad the decking, walls and ceiling around the pool, which creates a welcoming space intended as an extension of the interior.
Above the stone-clad base, glass walls reinforce the reference to the open threshing floors of local barns and allow for views into and out of the home’s main family rooms.
“The public floor of the house is exposed to the outside through the huge glass windows which, besides ventilation and light input, allow us to explore the ideas of lightness and structural weakness that we sought,” Marques added.
A living and dining area on this floor is separated from the kitchen by a wall of the ipe wood, which is also used for a section of the north facade to create a contrast between its seemingly natural fragility and the solid mass of the storey above it.
The top floor houses the main private spaces behind an opaque facade punctuated by a series of terraces that allow light to reach the interior.
A pronounced cantilever enhances the impression that the solid volume is floating weightlessly above the ground and reaches outwards to make the most of views from the terraces around its edges.
Insulating composite panels were used to clad the upper storey, creating a seamless surface in the space between the structural concrete beams.
A fireplace contained in a faceted wall creates a focal point between the living area and dining room. Vinyl flooring has been used throughout the interior, while the walls are clad in plasterboard that has been painted white.
The idea of a vernacular architecture (forgotten) and how it seeks to form a clear speech between the landscape and programmatic needs is something that we always admire.
A very successful example of this discourse, are the structures to support agriculture (normally function barns/granary), which in a more or less random would punctuate the countryside, as blocks of ephemeral appearance that levitated on the ground.
Generally, the proposal make reference to the tripartite elements vernacular, the Base, with a static image of monoblock and megalithic, which contain the functions of a nonpublic space, the open area, where are all the public spaces of the house, and that explores the visual and physical relationship with the outside, and finally the Block “gravity” where private spaces are located.
This metal-clad house in Chiba, Japan, was designed by architect Yuji Kimura to fill its site, meaning a car-parking space and balcony had to be slotted within its boxy volume (+ slideshow).
Yuji Kimura gave House in Chiba a galvanised steel exterior, punctuated by an assortment of square windows. A mesh door slides open to reveal the parking space in one corner, while a secluded balcony is located directly above.
The balcony is enclosed on all sides, but open to the sky. It also has a mesh floor, which allows light to enter both of the house’s two storeys.
“[The house] was planned to be a shape that surrounds the entire site, provided that the balcony and parking lot also serve as lighting,” said Kimura.
Residents enter the house through the garage, which leads through to bedroom and bathroom spaces on the ground floor. According to Kimura, these spaces require the least natural light.
Living, dining and kitchen areas occupy one double-height space on the level above so they can receive the most sunlight. Glass screens slide back to open this space out to the balcony.
The kitchen features a stainless steel counter, while the living space is filled with furniture on wheels that allows the occupants to easily change the layout.
A ladder provides access to a mezzanine loft that, like the rest of the house, features wooden flooring. The architect expects this to be used for storage.
This house has the appearance of a simple box, shaped like a factory, where large and small square holes create a visual rhythm that opens at random. The site is located in a corner lot where the two roads of a quiet residential area of Chiba Prefecture where suburbs cross.
The request from the owner when planning: 1. Bright and Large Living 2. Balcony with Privacy 3. Simple and appearance like a factory
In order to secure privacy, the house takes in light from the road side with no obstacles. It was planned to be a shape that surrounds the entire site, provided that the balcony and parking lot also serves as a lighting.
Since the whole is a simple big box-shaped, by setting the bare dare joints such as bolts and rail, a garage gate and gate is prevented from too much minimal. Moreover, the arrangement of square holes of various sizes, such as are open to random, the opening is making a visual rhythm.
A bedroom being only the sleeping purpose and spending most of time in living and dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom were placed in the first floor, a dining room and a living room were placed in the sunniest place of the second floor. Provided with a large opening in the living room, so that is out on the balcony.
There is also a sliding door with storage space in the kitchen back side, refrigerator, washing machine, household goods are placed in it. The atrium part, by providing a loft that can be up and down the ladder, and in consideration for storage.
Location: Chiba, Japan Design: Yuji Kimura Design Site area: 84.10 sqm Building area: 41.13 sqm Total area: 82.26 sqm Structure: timber
Architect and photographer Marc Gerritsen designed this house for himself on a Thai island, with an skeleton-like structure that frames sea views (+ slideshow).
Nestled into a hillside amidst the nature reserves of Koh Samui, Naked House gives Marc Gerritsen an escape from his busy city life, which sees him travel frequently between Taiwan and other Asian countries.
“Life in Taipei is very hectic, and I needed a place to escape. I really wanted a quiet area and a fantastic view,” said Gerritsen. “The house was a return to the basic values in life: good clean air, wide-open space, quiet solitude.”
The five-storey house is formed of a series of levels that cascade down the hillside, protruding like the tiers of a staircase.
Gerritsen chose very basic materials to emphasise the location and view. The base of the house is concrete, while a galvanised steel frame rests on top to contain the two upper floors.
“There are no embellishments. The focus is on the space rather than the materials,” said the architect.
An open-plan living space occupies the ground floor, fronted by wooden-framed windows that slide back to overhang the facade. These windows open the space out to a large terrace with wooden decking, a tiled swimming pool and concrete planting boxes.
The living space contains a simple kitchen with low-level cupboards on one side, a seating area on the other, and a dining area sandwiched in between. There is also a patio shaded by the flat steel roof canopy.
An exterior concrete staircase leads up to a master bedroom, which perches at the top of the house. This is a self-contained structure that also features sliding windows, balcony and an over-hanging roof.
An open-air en suite sits alongside the bedroom, offering panoramic views of the surroundings from the bath and shower.
Another staircase wraps around the outside of the house, tracing the curve of the hillside from the living space down to floors below.
An exposed room with a swinging sofa occupies the space below the deck, along with a steam room.
The next floor down contains two symmetrical bedrooms, where large sliding wooden doors reveal huge bowl-like baths, while the final floor houses houses an office and a maid’s room.
Here’s a description from Marc Gerritsen:
The Naked House
The main thing about this location is the expanse of the surroundings and the quietness. Life in Taipei is very hectic, and I needed a place to escape. I really wanted a quiet area and a fantastic view. Having an open plan living room, with doors that can totally slide away, which look out at the pool and the ocean – that’s something I’d been thinking about for a long time. With this plot, I was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The house was a return to the basic values in life: good clean air, wide-open space, quiet solitude. With these basic values you can be in a space that is uncluttered, and your mind can become still. That’s also the reason behind the very basic materials that I have used: concrete, wood, steel and glass. There are no embellishments. The focus is on the space rather than the materials.
I originally planned three stories: two bedrooms on the bottom; the pool, living area and kitchen on the middle level; and an office on top. But I’ve added a bathroom on the living room level, a laundry room and pantry. I wanted a simple kitchen, with no overhead cupboards or tall fridge, so the pantry is good for storage. I added a freestanding open-air bathroom, as the top room became a magnificent master bedroom, which needed an en-suite.
The tank and plant room became a large open room with a swing bed, underneath the deck I added a steam room, and the space below the bedrooms now houses an office and maid’s room. So it ended up being five stories – the result of a work in progress.
My work over the last few years as an architectural and interior photographer has taught me what not to do. Looking at all the incredibly fine detailed properties I photographed in Asia. I thought: “Is this really necessary to be comfortable? If I walk on a concrete floor or if I walk on a marble floor, is it going to make my living experience so much better?” No. You just need a floor to walk on. I am interested in a return to basics, in a luxury monastic way of living.
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