-
Architects: YDS Architects
- Year: 2017
-
Photographs:Nobuki Taoka
-
Manufacturers: ADVAN, Lixil Corporation, Muku-Flooring, Nuprotec, Sanwa
Text description provided by the architects. Located in typical residential area in Tokyo, an old wooden house was designed for regeneration into two-family house. The client wants it to be renovated because her family would live with her mother. The original house was built 40 years ago, so one of the owner’s important demands was to strengthen the structure. Generating natural and artificial light applying existing elements and materials regenerate architectures. Regenerating these old houses leads to sustainability and contributes to the cultures and diversities.
A small garden which they rarely used because they care other people’s eye due to the low fences catches our eyes, and our design intention is making the best use of it. The design objects making the additional building in the garden, rather making use of the void, offers the terrace as an outdoor room ‘Green Void’. The existing beams were placed at random, new beams are evenly added to the frame which would bring about the sense of order and express the transitional beauty reflecting the light and shadows.
How to bring the natural light into the space in the most effective way is the most challenging part of the design. As we closely investigated the detail structure of the existing house, we noticed the difference of the heights of the beams and their layout. New narrow window under the small beam is placed to bring in vivid natural light and two beams are designed as lighting equipment. Beauty with order would come into being and the frame and light would be unified when they encounter.
The overhung stair of woods would create flow from the entrance to the rooms in the second floor via the main room. The desk and handrails of woods placed using the existing columns inspires the conversation between old and new. To create the space wrapped by woods and make it simple, the beams, columns and ceilings are painted in the same Osmo dark brown and the walls are painted in white. Natural light shines in white wall and light from the beams melt into the space in the same color of ceiling and beams. Sense of unity by minimizing the materials and colors bring forth profound beauty.
The Green Void enfolded by the high wooden walls would be the essential space without taking care for other’s eye and serves as vigorous space one would feel the light, air, and wind. New house totally renovated inside yet shows simple beauty of woods and light and the bounty of nature providing wooden spaces of several times.
