This is a plan to design a residential house located along a river bank with bamboo groves in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture, for a married couple and their 2 dogs.
The long and narrow site stretches from north to south; there is a factory on the north, new residential houses line up on the west, fields on the south and a river lush with bamboo groves along the bank flow on the east.
In order to fully utilize the site upon consideration on the ways to keep privacy and to gain daylight, the plan of the building is brought closer to the western side, while opening up to the bamboo groves on the eastern side.
The outer wall that is connected to the folded-plate roof which changes the height of the ceiling, separates different areas like the living room, dining room and the free space into partitions while allowing those spaces to continue to the outside.
The folding wall that is extended to the exterior, becomes a self supporting wall due to the folding, and by connecting it to the direction of the bamboo grove, it links our consciousness from the scale of the residential area to the rivers and the agricultural land with perspective.
Also from indoors, the pillars > mullions > bamboo groves (vertical elements) line up randomly and gradually becomes thinner, allowing the pillars and mullions blend in with the view of the bamboo groves. Again, it naturally connects our consciousness from the indoor space to the outside.
In order to incorporate both the cars and dogs as part of the owners’ everyday lives, and to keep a moderate sense of distance while maintaining unity, the interior is designed as a single space but with three floors (floor for cars, floor for dogs and floor for the owners) in sections depending on the different usage.
The floor for the dogs, which is at the same level as the garden is one step above the floor for cars, and by finishing it entirely as dirt floor, it makes it easier to connect with the garden and ensures ventilation. From there, the floor for human is raised 1 meter high, in consideration that both the owner and dogs can live stress-free by avoiding things like the fallen dog fur interfering with the living space.
The husband working on the floor for cars, the large-breed dogs wandering around the floor for dogs, and the wife in the kitchen on the floor for human - they can all lead their everyday lives while acknowledging each other’s existence.
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