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Architects: Atelier Tekuto
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Photographs:Toshihiro Sobajima
Text description provided by the architects. The site of the Mebius house is located ten minutes away from Kamakura. To the West it is surrounded by a mountain range. To the South and East are an Urbanization Control Area. This restricts all future building in those areas. Thus the promise of unspoiled surrounding greenery made for a highly appealing site.
“ A space where one can feel nature and a living space suited to a couple with a pet rabbit .“ These were Atelier Tekuto clients’ key words, and with that Atelier Tekuto proceeded to design the Mebius house. Though the rough terrain did pose some problems. The mountains to the south restricted the amount of sunlight that could penetrate the house in winter. Uneven land posed challenges to how construction could be carried out. Atelier Tekuto based their design on various rhythms and wavelengths, such as those of the sun, lunar cycles, plant life and human cycles.
Atelier Tekuto’s aim was to provide a place where one had a multiplicity of spatial choice depending on the seasons, the different time of day, the particular activity, or what mood one is in. The building’s space is a fusion of interior and exterior layers. The plans specifically called for a corridor that formed a quadrangle, accompanied by other spaces of complementary volumes.
There was also the need to minimize the amount of excavation due to the uneven flag-like shape of the site. Atelier Tekuto did not try to fight the natural conditions of the environment, but used the uneven land to Atelier Tekuto’s advantage and established multiple levels. Thus the building grew as a space full of architectural rhythm, bearing not just a plain facade, but an eye-catching sense of verticality.
