Set on a mountain ridge in the rural district of Shizuoka in Japan, JIKKA is a teepee-shaped private home for a pair of friends in their 60s. Designed by Tokyo-based architect Issei Suma, the 100-square-meter cluster of tent-like structures doubles as a home and workplace for its clients. One a cook and the other a social worker, the space serves as a food delivery service for the elderly and a nursing care facility for people with disabilities.
The project was a finalist in the 2017 A+Awards in the Residential-Private House (XS <1000 sq ft) category, and as you explore images of this enchanting mixed-use dwelling, it is not hard to see why.
The house is designed in a series of 5 huts, each with square-shaped plans of varying proportions to accommodate the individual programs. The pointed huts are wrapped in light, slender wooden panels with large, arched windows that curve from the ground halfway up each structure until the roof starts to slope. These glass apertures provide ample natural light into each hut alongside small, circular openings at the top of each point. The interior is clad in smooth concrete and white-coated timber beams.
The client’s living quarters including a shared bedroom, bathroom and storage exist in a compact hut featuring low-ceilings. This creates a cozy and cocoon-like space for users.
The dining room, designed at the center of the cluster, is the opposite. It boasts a ceiling that rises 8 meters high, thus rendering it distinctly more grand and communal. It is also acts as a massive cooking space, with a stainless steel kitchen and large table for food prepping. It’s in the dining space that the clients host guests from the local community and welcome old friends from Tokyo.
The nearby guest room includes a stunning, spiral-shaped, wheelchair accessible bath where the clients accompany their parents or disabled guests. Within each hut, the project provides excessive space and ease of circulation for the clients and their visitors.
Images via Issei Suma