Many Houses are clustered around land in the residential area. For this site, it is a slightly larger piece of land facing south.
All rooms are designed facing south. Thus, it stretches in east-west direction.
For the large south-facing windows, Japanese-style louvers were installed to provide owner’s privacy while let light and wind through.
Also, the bathroom on the second floor serves an open balcony towards outside, where vertical Japanese traditional louvers are installed high up to the roof. In this way, the users feel free to enjoy the outdoor space.
The living room locates in the central of building on the first floor, with a large void above. And other rooms are designed at the two sides of the volume of living room and the void. To respect the privacy, small windows are placed for the living room, while the light could be captured from the sky through the central void.
Also the central void reveals the core of the house, and the sign of family.
Photography by Shinpei Kato of Japan