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Architects: Osamu Morishita Architect & Associates
- Area: 2740 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Tomoki Hahakura
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Manufacturers: Tra-k
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Lead Architect: Osamu Morishita
Text description provided by the architects. At the end of the summer of 2019, I visited Ohi-town in Fukui prefecture, surrounded by the soothing sounds of Higurashi (clear-toned)cicada. The site is located on well-maintained coastal reclaimed land and is on the spatial flow connecting the sea and the mountainous area. Warm but humid, soft, gentle air wrapped me up. The concept idea was to create a comfortable environment where people could gather. This project was selected through a competition held by the local government. The main requirement of the proposal was to develop a “challenge shop, etc.” where people can innovate and develop new businesses.
It is important to fascinate and draw people to the architecture, but we never intend to create specific unique “shapes” which catch the human eye, but we try to create a difference of density by gathering homogeneous spatial units. By doing so, diversity will be created within the order. I wanted to create a kind of place where rural private houses accumulate in a village and create an attractive spatial density with the topography, creating such an impressive yet timeless place that is familiar with the activities of people.
Buildings absorb and store solar energy and sometimes release heat. In addition, in sync with the thermal condition of the earth, there is a unit that holds the air in the upper layer. The atmosphere on the earthen floor that once existed in a Japanese traditional house is lightly reproduced in modern times. Instead of a tiled roof that has a large heat capacity or a thatched roof that holds air, an accumulation of the “Units” composed of air masses covered with transparent ETFE (fluoropolymer film), like a down jacket. It exchanges energy with the outside and stabilizes the internal environment of the lower layer. Sunlight will be diffused inside through a structural prism consisting of cedar louvers, filling the interior environment with a round light.
Rather than the conventional energy-saving idea that secures an environment isolated from the outside with highly insulated and airtight walls using mechanical equipment, we aim for an open-type, gentle environmental control that connects to not only the natural atmosphere but also surrounding culture. The “Unit” is a basic structure that embraces air, but at the same time, it also composes a flexible truss that supports a large space and expands endlessly. They will be connected perennially, but underneath the, the activities of diverse people will blossom.
Incorporating the metaphor of a house into the composition, we intend to create a space that makes people feel open and familiar. A random geometric pattern is created by the composition of the roof, which consists of 72 units, 15 trees, and the skylights of ETFE. The integrated monocoque membrane surface covers the entire roof surface. ETFE has almost no insulation performance, but it also plays a role in radiating heat accumulated in the unit to the surroundings. Even with a down jacket, the outer skin that wraps the feathers (=air masses) is very thin, so energy is stocked and breathed through it.
