Katsutoshi Sasaki +Associates

Ogaki House

Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano

OGAKI HOUSE

Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates

CATEGORY
Houses

YEAR
2010

LOCATION
Japan

Text description provided by architect.

This modest residential house in Gifu, Japan by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates is built to accomodate the site context and weather conditions to provide a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere in the Ogaki House.

Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano
Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano

The house is designed for a family with four daughters, and is spatially distributed to provide open communication between all members of the household.

The Ogaki House acquires its forms from the various conditions of the site and the requirements of its users. The angular wall of the triangular silhouette of the house is oriented to the west to absorb the strong west wind in the winter season.

Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano
Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano

By extending this wall-roof element to the ground the architects were able to create a buffer against the cold winds, while suppressing the loads of the building from the roof.

The design has limited fenestration, opening only to the east and west, which face the courtyards.

This provides for ventilation through the house in the summer season, allowing the structure to discharge accumulated heat. An inner court yard also provides circulation within the house.

Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano
Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano
Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano

Social programs for the whole family, which include the living room and patios, are oriented within the triangle around the inner court, emphasizing the life within the household and the nature beyond its walls.

Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates also chose to emphasize the facility of communication between members of the household.

In one aspect, the architects placed the kitchen near the entrance, where members of the family and visitors can meet at the juncture of private life and street life at various times of the day.

Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano
Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano
Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano

In another aspect, the rooms of the four daughters are spread throughout the second floor and face an open ceiling space between which the lower and upper story can communicate.

The sloping roof also brings opportunities for intimate and private moments for family members to spend time alone or together among the soft wood finishes of the structure.

The windows provide ample light to filter through these spaces, but can also be controlled to varying degrees by the family.

Ogaki House
© Toshiyuki Yano


Ogaki House
plan 01
Ogaki House
plan 02


Ogaki House
section 01

Katsutoshi Sasaki +Associates
T +81 565 291521
Katsutoshi Sasaki +Associates
4-61-3 Tanaka-Cho Toyota-Shi Aichi 471-0845, Japan