-location, architecture
The second house stands in an environment
surrounded by luxuriant forest. In this
region, it is humid throughout the year and snow accumulates to a depth of
around 60 cm in winter. As measures
against corrosion on its openings and skeleton, therefore, the floor made with
RC structure is raised above the ground and the eaves are made to overhang
deeply. The raised floor and the gently
sloping roof are provided with cantilever structure overhanging to the limit of
the skeleton. It expresses buoyancy, as
well as mighty presence in horizontal directions and graceful proportions.
-interior, environment
In the floor planning, four box-shaped walls are
disposed on the flat floor. The four
boxes are respectively provided with four functions (kitchen, bathroom, toilet,
and storage space), while serving as the skeleton to support the roof. At the center part of the
house is a hearth encompassed with the boxes.
On the outside thereof, by contrast, are places mostly consisting of the
openings. The distance therebetween is
only a few steps for a human being, whereas it brings about a dramatic change
in the space. The height of the openings
connecting with the exterior is 1600 mm, which was determined in consideration
of the eye level of a person sitting directly on the floor and which is also
based on a proportion indigenous to Japanese architecture.
-structure
The structure of the house above the RC slab is
made of wood. The bracings are provided
intensively in the box-shaped walls. In
the roof, the beams are put up on a 900 mm grid and two sheets of plywood are
stretched thereon to overlap each other.
This creates robust rigidity of the roof surfaces, minimizing deflection
in the sash parts.