Atelier Tekuto

Boundary House . Chiba Prefecture

Atelier Tekuto . photos: © Toshihiro Sobajima

The site is situated in urbanization controlled area between residential area and farm land. It belongs to legally unbuildable zone but the client was allowed to build due to his vested rights of the land.

The house stands on edge between economy-based urban development area and rural land. Our design proposes a dramatic shift from economy-based to ecology-based life style.
We first envisioned living under tarp-like structure where one can fully feel nature and move freely between inside and outside. In order to integrate architecture and nature, we work with the concept of “blurring the boundary” by adopting the following design ideas. Firstly the plan becomes a maze-like composition where interior and exterior spaces are interwoven. Then 16 top lights, some are glazed for interior use and others without glazing for exterior use are provided. The potted plants, which are located both inside and outside, symbolizes co-existence of architecture and nature.
Materials and finishes are also treated the same in interior and exterior. Exterior walls are finished with charred ceder wood (called Yaki Sugi), that are traditional Japanese technique of wood treatment. And interior sides are finished with persimmon tanning containing Bengara (called ‘Kaki-Shibu’) that is also a traditional wood finish. Both finishes has similar texture and color, so that interior and exterior walls become continuous.
For floor finish, polished terrazzo are used both interior and exterior so that architecture is seamlessly connected with the ground.

completion date July 2012
location Chiba Prefecture, Japan
building use Private House
site area 178.23㎡
building area 99.85㎡
total floor area 99.85㎡
construction Wood
architectural design YAMASITA, Yasuhiro /Atelier Tekuto
constructional design NAWA, Kenji /SUWA architects + engineers

Awards
LEAF AWARD 2013 (included in shortlist for private house category)
Wood Design Award (Breakthrough Award)