Hokuriku Residence No.3 | Chidori Studio

Attracted by the spacious site and the surrounding environment with its old townscape at the foot of Mt. Hakusan, one of Japan's three sacred mountains, the young couple sought a one-story house with a large garden and open living, dining, and kitchen areas. Thanks to the clean water flowing from the mountains, traditional industries such as sake breweries, soy sauce, miso, and koji still remain in the surrounding area, and this site is also surrounded by a group of sake brewery buildings.

The adjacent land to the west of the site, owned by a sake brewery, is vacant and has no fence. The vacant lot, as seen from the site, is surrounded by fields and a small plantation, and beyond it are townhouses and a view of the mountains. The layout of the building was studied in order to create a visually expansive courtyard with this as a borrowed landscape. In addition, in order to keep some distance from the bustle of the road in front of the house, the building was placed in an L-shape along the road. Considering the loading and unloading of camping equipment, which is the hobby of the owner, we designed a floor plan that allows a view through the courtyard to the garage like a Japanese traditional gatehouse (horses have been replaced by motorcycles and farming tools by camping equipment), the living room, dining room, and kitchen like a main house with a large gable wall. The plan of the house is such that the living room, dining room, and kitchen can be seen through the courtyard.

The site is surrounded by a mixture of buildings of different periods and functions, including a townscape of town houses with matching eaves, a large sake brewery that has been extended and remodeled, and modern office buildings and factories. The lot across the street from the main site is slated to become a residential subdivision and will include a house with a carport. The various buildings that make up the streetscape are a living manifestation of the people who live here.

In this environment, we wondered if it would be possible to create a house that could be interpreted as a building of each era and function. The result is a house with a roof shape like an enlarged machiya (Japanese townhouse), a roof slope and construction similar to that of a warehouse, modern industrial exterior walls and components, and a layout that treats the adjacent vacant lot as its own site. Rather than referring to a single historical building or landscape feature, as was attempted with Hokuriku Dwelling No. 1, we sought a form of architecture that would accept and participate in this townscape, which has undergone a mixture of changes over the ages.

[JP]

ゆったりとした敷地と、日本三大霊山の一つである白山の麓にある古い街並みが残る周辺環境に惹かれた若い施主夫婦は、広い庭と開放的なLDKを備えた平屋住宅を要望していた。周辺には山から流れる清らかな水源のおかげで、酒蔵や醤油、味噌、麹などの伝統的産業が今でも残り、この敷地の周りも酒蔵の建物群が取り囲む。

敷地西側の酒蔵が所有する隣地は、空地で塀がない。本敷地から見ると、その空地には畑や小さな植林地があり、その先に町家や山並みが見える。この豊かな環境を象徴しているような風景だった。これを借景に、視覚的に拡がりを持たせた中庭を設けるべく、建物の配置検討を始めた。また、前面道路の喧騒から少し距離を取るため、道路に沿ってL字型に建物を配置した。施主の趣味であるキャンプ道具の出し入れを考慮し、道路側に建つ長屋門のようなガレージ（馬がバイクに、農具がキャンプ道具に置き換わった）と、大きな妻壁をもつ母屋のようなLDKが、中庭を介して見通せるような平面計画とした。

ちょうど敷地がある周囲には、町家がつくる軒が揃った街並みや、増改築された大きな酒蔵、近代的な事務所ビルや工場など、異なる時代や機能の建物が入り混じる。本敷地の道路を挟んだ向かいの土地は分譲住宅地になる予定で、カーポートを携えた住宅も建つだろう。この街並みを形成する多種多様な建物は、この地で暮らす人々の息づく風景として現れている。こうした環境において、それぞれの時代・機能の建物にも解釈できるような住宅がつくれないか考えていた。結果として、増改築された町家のような屋根形状、蔵と似た屋根勾配や納まり、近代的な工業製品の外壁や部材、隣地の休遊地も自らの敷地と見なす配置計画等に現れた。北陸住居No.1で試みたような、ある一つの歴史的建造物や景観的特徴を参照するのではなく、時代による変遷が混在するこの街並みを、そのまま受け入れ、参与するような建築のあり方を模索していた。

Lead Architects: Yusuke Oka

Stractural Enginieer: Unno Structural Consultant

Constractor: Yamashita Construction

Planting Designer: glove

Fablic Designer: FUJIE TEXTILE

Housing Consult: Ietatta Counter

Photography: Yasuhiro Nakayama