12 JAPANESE HOMES WHERE MODERN DESIGN MEETS TRADITION

Modern Design Meets Tradition in 12 Japanese Homes
By Steph, Web Urbanist, 18 February 2013.

Modern architects preserve the traditions of Japanese residential architecture while meeting 21st century needs in these 12 strikingly well-balanced homes. Adaptable rooms that can change size or function with room screens, transitional spaces between outdoors and in, shapes that recall ancient architectural typologies and insulating earth berms provide the privacy, serenity and connection to nature that have characterized Japanese homes for centuries.

1. 300-Year-Old House Wrapped in a Modern Exterior

The original portions of this beautiful Japanese home date back over three centuries. Architecture firm Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates wrapped the historic wooden gate house in a modern facade, protecting it and making it a part of the interior. The new exterior walls are burnt cedar with curving contemporary forms, literally embracing the aged part of the home.

2. Ultramodern Triangle Monolith

Rising like a massive monument from a grassy hill, this incredible black pyramid home by Suppose Design is rooted in ancient traditions of Japanese home building. The technique surrounds the lower level of the home in an earth berm to provide privacy, green space and insulation. Though certainly ultramodern compared to the more contemporary homes that surround it, this house pays tribute to the history of the nation in which it was built.

3. A House by Hirokyui Fukuyama

This glossy white home by Hiroyuki Fukuyama is undeniably modern, with a minimalist aesthetic and a highly unusual shape leading to asymmetrical rooms. But within that shape is the suggestion of a boulder, and the inside has a comforting cavern-like feel.

4. Meme Experimental House by Kengo Kuma

A modern reinterpretation of Japanese earth and grass architecture, the Meme Experimental House in Hokkaido by Kengo Kuma lights up at night like a lantern. The home is modelled after Japanese Chise homes traditionally built of natural materials, but built from a semi-transparent membrane with recycled PET insulation. This allows natural light to penetrate the home during the day. Built partially into the earth, the home maintains a stable temperature.

5. House in Kohoku by Torafu

The House in Kohoku by Torafu has a similar look to the A House, but its rough concrete exterior makes the mountain association even clearer. Located in a quiet residential region on a hill in Yokohama, the home makes use of a small flag-shaped site. The shape, with its three volumes topped by enormous skylights, lets in maximum daylight while retaining privacy.

6. T House by Sou Fujimoto Architects

Sou Fujimoto Architects envision the cavernous T House as one volume that has had its walls stretched to create separate but unified spaces. Describing it as ‘primitive’, the architects sought a simple home inspired by stepping stones in Japanese gardens. “That is, steppingstones are usually placed at those alleyways, and the scenery keeps changing while one stepping across by the stones. Each one step renews relationship of things around.”

7. ABE House by UAo

Stacked spaces provide a multitude of purposes in the concrete ABE House by UAo, the floor of the second level jutting out to create surfaces for sitting and working in the recessed lower level. The architects say that walking through the various personal spaces of the home is like a ‘journey,’ wherein the rooms within the three main volumes are all connected to garden spaces.

8. A Monostruct House by Masato Sekiya

Inspired by traditional Japanese screens and made of local wood, A Monostruct House by Masato Sekiya has exterior wooden beams that continue down through the interior walls. This, combined with the staggered levels of the upper story, give the home a bright and open feel.

9. Underground Balcony in a Screened Barn Home

Japanese screens, barns and the tradition of building the lower level of the home into the earth influenced the design of this home by Yukiharu Suzuki & Associates. The home is covered in wooden slats, with timbers that continue throughout the spacious and open interior. A concrete element extends out at basement level to create a sort of underground balcony with views focused on the water.

10. House in Hanareyama by Kidosaki Architects

Kidosaki Architects integrate traditional Japanese themes, shapes and arrangements into stunning contemporary homes and other structures, pulling the exterior into the interior and focusing on a sense of the passage of time. House in Hanareyama is one example, with tatami mats and black stone leading up to a sleek one-story structure.

11. Hanaha by mA-style Architects

Courtyards are a common element in Japanese homes, bringing in natural daylight and a connection to the outdoors. In the Hanaha home, the courtyard is the main focus, and it has been elevated off the ground with the common areas of the home spiralling off it. “The family can move spirally around the flowers and trees to observe and enjoy them from different perspectives,” say the architects.

12. In-Gawa Community Housing Proposal by INDEX

The IN-Gawa community housing proposed for Tomisato City is based on the Japanese concept of Engawa, or veranda space found in the country’s traditional housing. INDEX architecture re-imagines these spaces, which are typically at the perimeter of the house, as a series of internal veranda spaces running between the rooms of each dwelling, with large windows looking out on communal garden space.

[Source: Web Urbanist. Edited.]