House in Nasu | KAWAKUBO TOMOYASU Architects & Associates

The planning area lies on a small hill with a wide-open view near the Nasu Imperial Villa. You can gaze upon the sea of trees in Nasu, and the bottom of Mt. Yamizo from the Southwest side to the Northeast side from this area, with an elevation difference of 3 m from the upper North side and the lower South side. The reason why I have noted this “wide-open view” above is because this area is different than the scenery of villas made by a cultivated coppice. It is rather a place, which allows you to see a typical geographical formation of a far off hilly area. The　wind and light that come through are not obstructed by the higher trees or surrounding houses.

The structure that simply accepts this environment is necessary. That’s how I felt when I first visited this area.

The ideas to organize the plans were quite simple. First, I recognized the formation where each space would stand, and I followed my idea. For example, the public spaces such as the living and dining rooms where daytime activities mainly will be held should be located in the South.

The bedrooms and the guest rooms should be in the East so that they can catch the morning sunlight when the tenants wake up. While considering the role of a guesthouse, I sorted the space into a few groups: the public space should be on the 1st floor, the private space should be on the 2nd floor. I organized them into a layered three-dimensional cross shape. Now the structure is able to maintain the field of view outside from any point inside. “The vacancy of view” is created in any direction around the building.

Through the pilotis and the roofs, the scenery of the woods and the sky is reflected. The people will be able to have a closer relationship with nature. With a few adjustments like these, I have　created a flare spot (hikari mura) and a heat spot (netsu mura) that consistently fluctuate depending on the weather and time of day inside and outside of the building. This gives a comfort and character to the space. For the inside residential space, I decided to make a three-dimensional open floor plan with the well hole installed in the center of the cross shaped formation. I sought the flexibility to embrace both the ease of daily life, in which the tenants can see everywhere in the building, and the activities they enjoy while on vacation. In order to keep the absolute requirement of blocking out the winter temperature and humidity, I cut the scenery in some places and arranged big and small openings to invite the light and keep the relationship with the outer space.