Experimental Japanese Winter Cabin Blends Traditional Methods with Modern Materials

The conventional modern way of building for northern climates often involves synthetic insulation and some kind of mechanical heating — an energy-intensive and inefficient way to live out the winter. For the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, the traditional way of winter-proofed building is called “chise,” referring to a home that is built with earth, clad with bamboo and sedge grasses, with radiantly heated floors and interiors kept warm by a central hearth that is never allowed to go out.

In an experimental project for the Meme Meadows environmental research facility on Japan’s Hokkaido island, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has constructed a dwelling that uses these indigenous principles and combined them with modern materials to create a translucent house that operates in rhythm with natural patterns of light and heating.

Via Treehugger

Sowa Unit / Kensuke Watanabe Architecture Studio

The site is located in middle of residential district of suburb area, an hour ride with train from center of Tokyo. The project is a facility that supports the rehabilitation of mentally disordered person.

Two approaches of design could be considered for handicap support facility; one is providing protect for what the user is disabled, and the other is stimulate and encourage the disabled part more than usual condition. Extensive discussions with the Client lead the project to take the later approach, to have the space open and encourage the users to get physically and visually connected with other people.

The building is composed with six bands that shift its position one by another. Openings to the direction of street are clearly open while the crossing direction to the neighbor has no widows. This allows the activity and space of the building to be connected each other or to street and town while having appropriate distance and buffer to the adjacent resident. Ceiling at second floor are also shifted vertically so natural light comes through the high side slit window.

Each band have open space and closed core which stole the equipment or having water supply that supports the activity held in open space. These cores stands alternately so that the space is not only being transparent but also has a visually blocked area that user can control the connectivity by shifting his body within the space.

The program with public character such as café, lunchroom, or office work training room are located at street side and gradually turns private toward the end of the building.

The structure is made of reinforced concrete and has exposed finish. We used the normal plywood rather than coated one for the formwork so the graining is transferred and remain as the texture of concrete. Floor material is mortal or tile at 1st floor and wood flooring at 2nd floor. The facility will be full of objects and materials that support the activity, and the architecture was design as simple as possible that becomes the background/canvas of various “colored” activities.

Grow / APOLLO Architects & Associates

This downtown residence, which also houses the working spaces of a husband-and-wife designer couple, is located on an extremely small plot measuring just 65sqm. The cockpit-like office area at the entrance to this home is separated from the garage by a single pane of glass. Opening the garage door to its fullest extent creates a sense of unity between the street and the interior, giving rise to a sort of intermediate zone. The area around the small central courtyard located at the far end of the first floor is filled with diffused light pouring down from the upper levels, projecting a sense of tranquil calm in the adjoining master bedroom.

Going up the spiral staircase leads to a children’s room for the client’s three kids and a large changing room on the second floor. A curtain partitions off the bathroom and utilities. By opening the door to the central courtyard, which is surrounded by concrete walls, the inhabitants can enjoy the sensation of relaxing in an outdoor bath while basking in the light and wind.

On the third floor is the family room, which adjoins the open stairwell. High skylights installed along the walls and on the ceiling make use of the sloping roof, which emerged as a result of the setback limit imposed by the city. A panoramic view of the sky and downtown area is visible from these glass panels, which also allow ample sunlight into the interior. The living room, which features built-in furniture covered in tatami mats, allows the residents to enjoy sitting on the floor, as if they were in a little treehouse.

The balcony next to the kitchen will soon be filled with plants, allowing them to enjoy cooking and preparing food in an open, relaxed environment surrounded by greenery. The rooftop garden, which can be accessed through a rooftop structure, is a genuine urban oasis. This small residence, whose interior brims with a sense of openness that cannot be imagined from the relatively closed facade and its few visible openings, is distinctive for its myriad faces and spatial configurations that can be enjoyed as one moves up and down the different levels.

Shelf-Pod / Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio

This innovative structural system affords not only large amount of book storage, but the possibility of flexible floor level which can be delivered from every height of bookshelf. Each space for different activity rise up helically, giving the impression of exploring a wooden jungle gym.

The original image of this structure is derived from the Japanese woodcraft of Kumiko. The structural integrity against an earthquake is provided by a panel of plywood board nailed on the shelf. Initially, the horizontal resistant force guaranteed by the panels was examined in a real-scale model. Further to this, an analysis of the whole structure was performed in order to determine the placement of the windows and panels. The inter-locking laminated pine-board was manufactured precisely in advance and assembled on-site. Similarly, the pyramid-shaped roof was assembled on-site, from 12 pieces of prefabricated wooden roof panel. The completed roof has a thickness of only 230mm and sensitively covers the whole space like the dome of a Mosque.