Melt House

Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi

MELT HOUSE

SAI Architectural Design Office

LANDSCAPE 
Inamoto

DESIGN TEAM
Ippei Yasue

ENGINEERING 
Ikesyo Corporation

PHOTOGRAPHS
Norihito Yamauchi

AREA
114 m²

YEAR 
2017

LOCATION
Yao, Japan

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

It is a plan in a residential area located at the foot of Mt. The site is a narrow site with a frontage of 5.6m and a depth of 23.7m. The client was a couple in their 30s and two children, and was asked to live in a place where they could feel green.

Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi

A home that feels green is not a home where you can see the green from anywhere, but a home where the residents actively use the external space and grow together with the green.

For example, taking a nap under a tree, touching a leaf, planting a new friend tree or flower, spending time directly feeling the wind and smell with the greenery is an urban society.

Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi

I thought that I could create an original experience and a rich life that I was forgetting.

Therefore, we established gardens in two gaps created by placing buildings in the north and south.

Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi

If you plan the courtyard style in this long and narrow site, a space like a narrow passage will be created, so we decided to create a roof that can withstand rain in the garden and use it as a room.

This garden space was placed in the center of the house as a multi-functional space that can be used freely by residents as a dry garden.

It functions as a device that accepts a variety of homes, such as changes in weather and climate, changes in usage according to time, use of outdoor events, and changes in the lifestyle of residents.

Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi

In addition, by providing large openings and high-side lights, the plan is to take in plenty of natural light into the house and actively take in natural ventilation even though it is a long and narrow building.

In addition, by placing a dry garden between the dining room and the living room, you can use it daily and live with greenery.

Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi
Melt House
© Norihito Yamauchi

This plan hopes that even in a limited area, the dry garden will allow the residents to spend a variety of time and create a space where each scene can be spun up in a dense and diverse manner.


Melt House

Melt House