木本之家丨日本丨Niko Design Studio

Architects:Niko Design Studio

Area:51m²

Year:2020

Photographs:Takehito Nishikubo

Structure Design:Kuwako Architectural Design Office, Ryo Kuwako

Construction:Miyajima Komuten

Metalwork:Taira Kaji Ayumu Ohara

Japanese Paper Production:Hatano Wataru

City:Chiyoda City

Country:Japan

"It would be great to have a sunroom where we could grow plants and live while looking at them." These were Mr.and Mrs. Kimoto's first words at the beginning of the design process. So we created an inner terrace for the plants and at the same time, a space that would act as a buffer zone to avoid the view from the street.

The plan form is a "U-shape" that embraces the landscape on the east side. The shape of the ground floor, which is distorted, was conceived with the aim of maximizing the amount of ground on which trees can grow.

Cross-sectionally, two staircases are planned so that the "inner terrace" can be approached directly from the entrance, and the building is conceived as a three-dimensional circulation route in everyday life. By prioritizing the acceptance of "a place for creatures" other than humans in daily life, we aimed to make the house an environmental device that is not affected by social changes.

We left as much of the earth as possible and created places for plants. Although this is a negative in terms of arithmetic, it is actually magic that enriches our lives many times over. The homeowner had just moved in during the Covid-19 emergency declaration, so she had spent a lot of time in her stay-home. They said their stay-home was so comfortable.

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