There is a stream on the south side of the site, cherry trees are lined along the bank.
There was a retaining wall of tuff between the road and the site.
I wanted to make the topography of such steps continue to the house.

The resident is an old married couple and son.
The first floor is wide to allow all of the life of the couple.
By lifting the floor of the second floor a little, light is taken in center of the 1st floor often becomes dark.
You can exchange of gaze from the gap of the floor, can keep the relationship between people.
Furthermore, lifting Staircase roof of the center, it functions as the ventilation tower.

Some stainless boards are attached on the outer walls, and some mirrors are attached on the inner walls.
The green of a garden is reflected in the stainless steel boards and the mirrors.
The space is expanded like trompe l’oeil.

By having various depth which range from the urban scale such as bank and retaining wall to life scale such as inside a small window and mirrors, I wanted to achieve transparency suitable for the house.

Project info:

location: Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
principal use: private house
design period: November.2012-July.2013
construction period: August.2013-April.2014
structure: wood-frame, 2 stories
site area: 227.04sq.m
building area: 115.20sq.m
total floor area: 121.68sq.m
max height: 6,990 mm
structural engineer:Tatsumi Terado Structural Studio
general contractor:Maruhei Kensetsu Co., Ltd
Garden design:Yasutoshi Sakurai / Sakurai Zoukeisha
photographs:
01-03,14,16:Hiroshi Tanigawa
04-13,15,17:Kai Nakamura