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HOUSE IN UMAMIOKA
HOUSE IN UMAMIOKA
Nara, Japan
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Other Projects by Den Nen Architecture
HOUSE IN UMAMIOKA
Nara, Japan
This house is located on a sloping, south-facing triangular site. As one ascends the slope, the park and pond adjacent to the Samita Takarazuka burial mounds – the oldest of their kind belonging to the Umami kofun (ancient burial mound) cluster that dates from the late 4th century – comes into view beyond the trees to the north. This neighboring site, which has been designated an “urbanization control” area where redevelopment is prohibited, is home to a landscape that is unlikely to be obscured by buildings that may be built in the future.
Although the surrounding area is an upscale residential district, properties here are relatively affordable – perhaps due to the unusual shape of the plots – and a number have remained unsold for many years. The client had a somewhat unfavorable first impression of the site, but decided to purchase this plot of land after ascending the slope and seeing the view of the landscape to the north. Another reason that prompted his decision was that savings from the lower price of the land would leave him with funds to spare, even after covering building and development costs. The requirements, naturally, were for a design that would leverage this landscape and view to their full advantage.
For us, the shape of the site promised to make cooking a joy, motivating the residents to prepare delicious food in the kitchen. The specific conditions for this project seemed to demand that we cut back on land costs and spend money on building and development, while making ingenious interventions at the level of the architectural design. The possibilities presented by the view overlooking the burial mounds, as well as an open space without blinds or curtains, were also plainly evident.
Taking all these factors into consideration, we designed a wooden, triangular-shaped building with one basement level and two floors above ground, poised on the sloping surface of the site. In order to prevent too significant a deviation from the scale of the surrounding houses due to the wider frontage resulting from the shape of the site, the height of the building was curbed. The layout of the second floor and the gradient of the roof were determined so that the house would resemble a basement level and a detached, one-storey house above it, with the solar panels hidden from sight. The ceiling in the living room on the second floor was restricted to an extremely low height of just 1600mm at its lowest point beneath the beams. This allowed us to adjust the proportions of the entire house in addition to creating a sense of unity with the study space on the first floor. The living room and terrace that is continuous with it offers an expansive view of the burial mounds and park in the distance. By installing a variety of both traditional and modern amenities, such as a wood stove and solar powered generator, we created a house with a palpable, multilayered sense of both the historical and the contemporary.
Although the surrounding area is an upscale residential district, properties here are relatively affordable – perhaps due to the unusual shape of the plots – and a number have remained unsold for many years. The client had a somewhat unfavorable first impression of the site, but decided to purchase this plot of land after ascending the slope and seeing the view of the landscape to the north. Another reason that prompted his decision was that savings from the lower price of the land would leave him with funds to spare, even after covering building and development costs. The requirements, naturally, were for a design that would leverage this landscape and view to their full advantage.
For us, the shape of the site promised to make cooking a joy, motivating the residents to prepare delicious food in the kitchen. The specific conditions for this project seemed to demand that we cut back on land costs and spend money on building and development, while making ingenious interventions at the level of the architectural design. The possibilities presented by the view overlooking the burial mounds, as well as an open space without blinds or curtains, were also plainly evident.
Taking all these factors into consideration, we designed a wooden, triangular-shaped building with one basement level and two floors above ground, poised on the sloping surface of the site. In order to prevent too significant a deviation from the scale of the surrounding houses due to the wider frontage resulting from the shape of the site, the height of the building was curbed. The layout of the second floor and the gradient of the roof were determined so that the house would resemble a basement level and a detached, one-storey house above it, with the solar panels hidden from sight. The ceiling in the living room on the second floor was restricted to an extremely low height of just 1600mm at its lowest point beneath the beams. This allowed us to adjust the proportions of the entire house in addition to creating a sense of unity with the study space on the first floor. The living room and terrace that is continuous with it offers an expansive view of the burial mounds and park in the distance. By installing a variety of both traditional and modern amenities, such as a wood stove and solar powered generator, we created a house with a palpable, multilayered sense of both the historical and the contemporary.
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