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House for S/A
House for S/A
Chiba, Japan
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Other Projects by kurosawa kawara-ten
House for S/A
Chiba, Japan
Firm
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2025
SIZE
0 sqft - 1000 sqft
BUDGET
$0 - 10K
This is a house for a seven-member, two-generation family of a couple running a honey farm in Otaki Town, Chiba Prefecture, along with their three children and parents. They had considered rebuilding on the site of their original house, where two generations had lived together. However, after the area was officially registered as a landslide hazard zone, they knew installing retaining walls and other measures would cost significantly more. Consequently, they purchased land in the neighborhood of their previous home and decided to build a new house.
The couple, who practice honeybee keeping with great passion and appear quite creative, initially envisioned a two-family house with a continuous, open layout that maximized views and served as a communal gathering space for their large family. However, as discussions progressed, it became clear they desired a private environment that felt secure and enclosed. The parents, also, had rarely spent much time together at home in the past. Their priorities shifted from shared spaces to private areas like bedrooms and studies, along with well-equipped facilities. This gradually revealed a relationship between the two households: close yet desiring mutual distance. A form with a contrasting spatial composition gradually developed. It mediates the ambivalent two-sided character of the family, the cool exterior and secure nest, the parent and child households, the living space and storage, and the relationship between inside and outside.
The residence features the parents' residence on the first floor and the children's residence on the second floor. It consists of a large curtain wall on the south side to bring in natural light for the utility areas, and a living space on the north side that has limited openings while still affording views. By placing the bathroom, wash area, and toilet—typically situated on the north side—toward the south, the design creates a bright, pleasant area for water-related activities filled with natural light. This placement also blocks visibility from the south path, the site's only approach, ( although, being located at the very back of the village, visitors are limited to those seeking the house or farmers tending the rice fields). This arrangement also creates a buffer zone between the secure living space and the distinct upper and lower floors, clearly separating the two households.
The contrasting composition is reflected in the details. The wet areas feature large openings achieved through custom steel mullions and single-column curtain walls. The space is planned as thinner design throughout, such as the visually thin eaves and the steel-framed staircase. The material selection, dominated by gray tones, creates a stylishl impression, forming the building's facade. In contrast, the living space is entirely clad in cedar paneling, both inside and out, creating a sculpted, massive form with deep carvings, as if openings were carved into a solid block of wood. Facing the exterior, the walls utilize the substantial thickness inherent in exterior insulation to produce deep openings. Storage and desk spaces are also provided within the wall cavity, an area that would otherwise be dead space. This effectively utilizes the space while creating a secure living environment by maintaining a greater distance from the external surroundings. In terms of material selection, locally sourced cedar lumber was used as paneling for both interior and exterior finishes, creating a dwelling that truly feels like living inside a beehive.
The contrasting composition extends even to the warehouse designed alongside the new residence. The two similarities—the new house and warehouse—placed side by side ultimately achieve a village-like presence reminiscent of rural settlements. As a result, the house viewed from the south approach appears unlike anything expected deep in the rural countryside of Chiba. It subtly expresses the ambivalent nature of a family engaged in creative beekeeping, living in the countryside.
Each family member's individuality, the act of working creatively while living in the countryside—questioning such clichés, and accepting each family member's two-sidedness as it is. By doing so, we were able to create a nest unique to these two families, one that could only exist here.
The couple, who practice honeybee keeping with great passion and appear quite creative, initially envisioned a two-family house with a continuous, open layout that maximized views and served as a communal gathering space for their large family. However, as discussions progressed, it became clear they desired a private environment that felt secure and enclosed. The parents, also, had rarely spent much time together at home in the past. Their priorities shifted from shared spaces to private areas like bedrooms and studies, along with well-equipped facilities. This gradually revealed a relationship between the two households: close yet desiring mutual distance. A form with a contrasting spatial composition gradually developed. It mediates the ambivalent two-sided character of the family, the cool exterior and secure nest, the parent and child households, the living space and storage, and the relationship between inside and outside.
The residence features the parents' residence on the first floor and the children's residence on the second floor. It consists of a large curtain wall on the south side to bring in natural light for the utility areas, and a living space on the north side that has limited openings while still affording views. By placing the bathroom, wash area, and toilet—typically situated on the north side—toward the south, the design creates a bright, pleasant area for water-related activities filled with natural light. This placement also blocks visibility from the south path, the site's only approach, ( although, being located at the very back of the village, visitors are limited to those seeking the house or farmers tending the rice fields). This arrangement also creates a buffer zone between the secure living space and the distinct upper and lower floors, clearly separating the two households.
The contrasting composition is reflected in the details. The wet areas feature large openings achieved through custom steel mullions and single-column curtain walls. The space is planned as thinner design throughout, such as the visually thin eaves and the steel-framed staircase. The material selection, dominated by gray tones, creates a stylishl impression, forming the building's facade. In contrast, the living space is entirely clad in cedar paneling, both inside and out, creating a sculpted, massive form with deep carvings, as if openings were carved into a solid block of wood. Facing the exterior, the walls utilize the substantial thickness inherent in exterior insulation to produce deep openings. Storage and desk spaces are also provided within the wall cavity, an area that would otherwise be dead space. This effectively utilizes the space while creating a secure living environment by maintaining a greater distance from the external surroundings. In terms of material selection, locally sourced cedar lumber was used as paneling for both interior and exterior finishes, creating a dwelling that truly feels like living inside a beehive.
The contrasting composition extends even to the warehouse designed alongside the new residence. The two similarities—the new house and warehouse—placed side by side ultimately achieve a village-like presence reminiscent of rural settlements. As a result, the house viewed from the south approach appears unlike anything expected deep in the rural countryside of Chiba. It subtly expresses the ambivalent nature of a family engaged in creative beekeeping, living in the countryside.
Each family member's individuality, the act of working creatively while living in the countryside—questioning such clichés, and accepting each family member's two-sidedness as it is. By doing so, we were able to create a nest unique to these two families, one that could only exist here.
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