The house is designed for an elderly married couple, and their grandchildren that occasionally stay with them.
The site is located in a housing district developed 30 years ago that kept the natural land form. Around the site, we can see beautiful retaining wall made of granite. I try to extend the exterior topography to the interior of the building.
If daylight diminishes, the shape of the structural shear wall that creates a relationship to the site’s stone wall, is projected onto the glass façade.
Similar to retaining stone walls, this wall is best play equipment that kids enjoy to clime, pass under the hole, sit, and see distant scenery.
A Structural shear wall system of wooden blocks.
This structural shear wall consists of ship-shaped wooden blocks. These blocks can be easily stacked without the help of skilled workers, and can be disassembled and assembled in different location if necessary.
Project Details:
Location: Nara City, Japan
Type: Houses – Residential
Architects: Tadashi Yoshimura Architects – www4.kcn.ne.jp
Structural Engineers: Masahiro Inayama
General Contractor: Nakayama Komuten
Site area: 265 sq m
Building area: 86 sq m
Total floor area: 148 sq m
Structure: wood; 2story
Principal use: residence, atelier
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Hitoshi Kawamot