Outside In

Describe the basic concept and design process.

The two main concepts at play here are gradation from exterior to interior, and positive interaction with the elements.

In one-story homes, you have the sky above, the forest or landscape to the sides, and the earth below. It’s possible to incorporate each of these appealing facets of the natural world into the interior space. When I drew up the ground plan and sections for this project, I brought those elements into the architecture via the gradation from exterior to interior.

The temperature in Fujiyoshida gets below-10 degrees Celcius in winter. Rather than design a house where the family would be shut up inside during the long winters, my concept was to create a more open space where they could sense the outside environment, both physically and emotionally, and relate to the weather in a positive way. They wake up to the call of wild pheasants; they can see peacocksfrom their bedrooms; they eat in a dining room where grass and trees grow. That’s the kind of daily life the family has.

The gradation from exterior to interior allows for this positive interaction with the natural world.At the same time, it sets up a relaxed relationship with the surrounding residential neighborhood.

Tell us how you got involved with this project.

The client contacted me after seeing some of my earlier work, including Acrylic House and Hoto Fudo.

Did the house that was actually built differ in any way from what you had planned? How did you resolve any difficulties that arose?

The house is just as I had pictured it. Dealing with the acrylic skylight was difficult, however. We ended up timing the whole construction schedule around the acrylic, which needed to be installed after its shrinkage had stabilized.

What about this project was similar to or different from past projects?

Outside In is similar to past projects in that it creates a new architectural relationship between exterior and interior. This was the first time we dealt with a climate that gets below minus ten degrees, however.

What do you value most during the design process?

Being aware of new things.

What did you learn from this project? What will you take from it to future projects?

What we discovered– and what made this project fun – was that even in a harsh natural environment it was possible to interact positively with the outside world.

E-Mail Interview conducted by Yuna Yagi