Textual content description supplied by the architects. This non-public home was initially constructed again in 1991 and is located in Ōmachi, a locality within the historic metropolis of Kamakura within the Kanagawa Prefecture. The constructing is positioned on a hillside surrounded by nature, leading to stunning landscapes in each path confronted at. Earlier than the modernization, the kitchen, dwelling, and Japanese-style rooms have been all separated in their very own enclosed space. This fragmentation spoiled the effectivity of the floor and created a sophisticated circulation inside.

Therefore, the renovation began by eradicating the dividing wall between the dwelling and tatami rooms on the primary flooring. This formed a spacious kitchen and lounge that covers the entire north-south path of the plan. For the previous one, an island has been put in close to the south finish of the plan, changing the earlier kitchen right into a passion confectionery. Smoothing with a rounded plasterboard the nook in entrance of the counter improved the move inside.

The brand new counter is roofed with the standard 10x10cm white tile from the Japanese trendy period, giving a contact of nostalgia amid the refurbished house. The island is dimensioned to supply a secondary eating spot for the house owners and it quickly turned the middle for the household’s life. Because of the brand new structure, the large openings alongside the western wall present loads of pure gentle contained in the plan. This allowed the 2 home windows within the south finish to be walled, in favor of a kitchen shelf.

Given the beneficiant dimension of the home and the disproportionate finances out there, the renovation prioritized these areas wanted probably the most, attempting to mix outdated and new harmonically. To attain this, the age of the dwelling must be seen, so the ceiling in the lounge has been eliminated in favor of the uncovered picket construction. Giant-sized tiles have been chosen for the pavement to match the feel and tone of the timber: these have a peculiar reflective floor just like water, working in synergy with the encircling.

The renovation introduced the most important modifications to the earlier first-floor Japanese-style room: in addition to its materiality which has been homogenized to the remainder of the dwelling, the storage turned a part of the house, widening the ambiance by rather a lot. The sunroom (内縁 Uchien) within the inside engawa gained a bookshelf from the previous storage. Now it’s used as a artistic place of the home when closed behind the uni
que Yukimi Shoji (雪見障子, lit. translated as “snow-watching shoji”).

A distinct method characterised the upper-level renovation, the place the restricted finances mixed with the present well-preserved circumstances required just some minimal modifications. The bathroom obtained a picket pavement harking back to the present one within the hallway and the opposite bedrooms. The studio within the south-west nook changed its flooring too, however the house owners solely made it DIY with a woven texture. Eventually, the sliding doorways within the Japanese-style bed room have been changed with a darker tone to raised match the materiality of the remaining.