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Architects: Yoshimasa Kishimoto Architects Studio
- Area: 134 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Norihito Yamauchi
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Lead Architect: Yoshimasa Kishimoto
Text description provided by the architects. A grid of four-and-a-half tatami mats was adopted as the unit for constructing the dwelling. The composition is based on the rule of arranging and dividing the area along this grid. This is an extension of the composition system of Japanese minka houses, which used to be called nimadori (two rooms) and mimadori (three rooms). It is a flexible form that can be arranged with simple rules, can be used as a small or large space, and can accommodate a variety of functions. 4.5 Tatami Mat Grid can be connected in any number of ways and in any direction, and the outer shell was designed to be free. Based on this premise, the site conditions and the client's requests were incorporated to create the overall vision of the house.
The site is part of a tiered land development project for residential lots that began in the 1980s and is located in a suburban residential area with street trees and gardens lining the south side of the site, and a covenant that systematically creates a green and favorable living environment. The owners are a young couple, their children, dogs, and a cat. The client requested a large garden to play in, an open LDK, a floor plan that would allow for easy communication and privacy as the children grow, a Japanese-style room, a rooftop, and a parking space.
First, the ground on the north side was raised and the maximum garden was secured on the south side to secure the parking height and to achieve both privacy and openness in the living space. The ground of the garden was gently sloped, and the interior was lined with tiered floors of 4.5 tatami mats space, which were connected to the rooftop, creating a small hill-like area. To create an open and relaxing space, a variety of ceilings were planned beyond the large openings to the garden, with blindfold plantings and borrowed scenery from street trees. Each ceiling has different spatial characteristics, including a light ceiling that abstracts the sky, surrounding greenery, and human presence; an atrium that connects to the roof; a sloped ceiling that reveals the expression of rough cedar trees; and a low, white ceiling that dully reflects light. The bathroom and master bedroom, the core of the house, is in the innermost space, and the rest of the house is a collection of rooms that can be used flexibly.
The steps are a series of abstract steps of 350mm that evoke various affordances such as placing things, sitting, children playing, dogs and cats climbing, etc. The aim was to make the function of the space ambiguous, while at the same time encompassing the functions planned according to the previous requests. We thought that the state in which the usable space could be found by adding a sofa, a dining table, children's toys, a bed, or some other arrangement would make the space richer. In addition, we have prepared spaces on each floor that are not intended for any purpose. For the sake of convenience, we call them sunrooms and halls, but their actual use will follow changes in lifestyle and daily activities.
It is a space that can sometimes be used as a gazebo for playing in the garden or as a small room for entertaining guests. The floor plan resulted in a house where different spaces interact with each other, with the boundaries gradually shifting and dividing according to the subtle sense of the scale of 4.5 tatami mats, which is compact for building storage, a little wide for one person to spend time alone, and narrow for a large group. The plan was based on the idea that a system in which anyone can easily combine and discover how to use the spaces becomes an architecture that continues to be created even after it leaves the designer's hands. In other words, to make it function as a permanent system, we took the sense of scale and versatility of the traditional four-and-a-half-mat room and planned it in a simple compositional way that was once used in Japanese minka houses. The exterior of the main building, which has a hipped roof that appears to be cut off vertically in the middle, shows the potential for expansion of the building, and the addition of a lean-to roof gives the house a unique character. The walls are made of elegant, lightly textured cypress, whose appearance changes with age, creating a landscape that blends in with the lush greenery of the townscape.
