Nez-T House
–Wooden house like RC, from consumer to creative user-
Concept
Nez-T House in the city of Nez/Yanaka, Tokyo has been designed to cater for two generations of one family. The house fronts an approach to Kan’ei-ji temple in a quiet residential area. A distance between generations has been reflected to approach, floor plans and exterior. The regulations for a wooden architecture prompted us to design inner/outer openings carefully . Also we have created flexible and versatile spaces as much as possible.
Process
Our proposal was chosen in a competition (several companies) for a better planning, design and flexibility. At the beginning, the clients had a simple aim to buy an office building. However, after seeing a model, they changed their mind to build a house and their needs became more creative. We discussed possible transitions of family members and life styles over years, even decades.
Exterior
The clients, who originally planned to renovate an existing RC building, liked our exterior proposal because it’s based on close study of details and openings with our contractors.
This two-generation residence asks for two façades and two entrances. Each façade with its own entrance serves one generation. We have expressed a gap between generations by using a different shape and gray palette for each façade.
The house measures up to 10 meter in height to address the needs of the clients for a loft space. We’ve set concave/convex windows alternately to meet the special fire protection standards required for wooden architectures higher than 9 meters.
At night, the exterior is illuminated by lights from lots of small windows, that we think would fit the neighborhood, rather than by strong light from one large opening. The shapes around windows are designed to soften lights from inside as if welcoming the occupants.
Interior
To increase the life of this Japanese wooden house, both front south and north façades have lots of small windows for ventilation. Through the south windows, the clients can enjoy a view of trees in the university across a street.
The upper two floors belong to the younger generation. The second floor has a versatile Japanese-style room, which can be a guest room; a corridor when doors are open; a 前室 where you can leave luggage/jackets; a place where you can unwind after work; or a community space for neighbors’ gatherings. The third floor is an open plan living space (32 square meters ) containing the living room, dining room and the kitchen. A L-shaped wall closet (8 meters in length) is built in the kitchen. A counter desk is placed near the kitchen so that children would come into the sight of its mother in the future. This layout makes the traffic flow between one area to another easy without creating dead-end spaces. A ceiling (3.5 meters in height) and the loft space provide not only a storage space and a sense of spaciousness but also invite the occupants to move up and down up in a daily life. The main living space room can be accessed from the loft , and they can spread their futons wherever they want.
Future process
Our message is: a house continues to grow forever. A versatile living room, the huge loft space and a RF pergola will enable the clients to adjust to changes in family members, life styles, social trends and economic situations. We hope clients to remember that you can build a house by learning architectural knowledge and techniques without buying a house.
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