Description
This house is representative of the traditional Japanese
house that is organised as a series of interconnected
spaces that can be joined or divided by means of sliding
partition walls. The individual rooms are only separated
by lightweight walls and can never really be fully (acoustically)
isolated. The flexibility that derives from this principle,
is one of indeterminacy. The openness of the plan
as well as the frame construction suggest that functional
and social changes can be dealt with easily — both on a
daily as well as on a periodic or even longer term basis.
Connections between rooms can be opened or closed
through sliding screens, which make it possible to change
the size and the function of a space in a matter of seconds:
two individual rooms can be joined by simply opening
up two large screens so that two small spaces become
one large room that can be used for a specific festivity or
family gathering. The actual flexibility and adaptability of
the house is thereby completely dependent upon the active
participation of the users (as well as a specific type of furniture):
by pulling out futons from a storage cupboard, a
room that was used as a dining or sitting room can be
transformed into a bedroom; the minimal approach to furnishings,
and the relative lack of other clutter, demands a
discipline to achieve flexibility that may be beyond normal
living patterns, but nonetheless the principle remains and
has fascinated generations of architects. Flexibility is also
enabled through a modular approach to design. The size
of the rooms is based on the standard measure of tatami
mats, with rooms made up of a set of these mats. i.e. 6
or 8; these and other building components are thus interchangeable.
Plan
People
Architect
Civil Engineer
Client
Owner
Time & Place
Status
Date
Address
Specifications
Floors
Floors: 2
Height
Staircases
Units per Staircase
Units per Floor
Units
Unit Area
Plot Area
Floor Area Typical
Area Total
Podium Area
Courtyard Area
Ground floor Area
Residents
Parking Spaces
Taxonomy
Organisation
1 appartment
Material
Wood
Structure
Usage
Housing
Tags