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Architects: Unemori Architects
- Area: 98 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Atelier Vincent Hecht
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Text description provided by the architects. This project is a combination of renovation and new construction. The site is in a suburban residential area with a mix of old and new houses. The main house, an annex, a workshop, and a warehouse were built by the owner's father, a carpenter, during his lifetime. These had been enlarged and remodeled at least four times. The plan called for converting the annex and workshop into a residence for the son, who is the owner, and his family, and for maintaining the family's lifestyle while keeping an adequate distance from the main house where the mother lives.
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The existing annex was a complex structure made of wood and steel. To maintain its complexity, a new wooden roof and exterior walls cover the existing framework and foundation, and floors and water facilities are added. While the new construction is structurally independent, a slight force (such as vertical force) is also transferred to the existing part, and a small space like a gap is created between the existing and the new construction.
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As a result, the large windows let in light and wind through the old columns, beams, and rafters. We aimed to create a house where the old and the new complement each other without conflict.
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The existing building was not a so-called rational architecture. However, the fact that it was made "with what was available at the time" and "as one wished" gave us a sense of the essential freedom toward making things. We participate in this creativity through an invisible dialogue with the owner's father. It is a collaboration that transcends time and architecture created by multiple entities. In the form of architecture, we wanted to express the richness of the existence of these various participants.
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