Engawa House
ENGAWA HOUSE
nLDK Architects
STRUCTURE ARCHITECT
Kataoka Structural Design Department
PROJECT MANAGER & CONTRACTOR
IFA
YEAR
2021
AREA
115 m²
CATAGORY
Houses
LOCATION
Osaka, Japan
Text description provided by architect.
In Japan, there are four seasons and beautiful nature but there are lots of disasters too. Our ancestors have been living with them.
After the huge earthquake, a vast and long embankment was constructed along the coast. It can control disasters but also interrupt views. I would like to design comfortable spaces for the ordinary and extraordinary.
The site faces a park with beautiful cherry trees and also a hill with a risk of landslides.
The house should have a concrete wall that prevents landslides. And the clients wanted to see their garden and the park from their house.
So I designed the concrete platform with 1 meter height = ENGAWA. The Engawa is a traditional part of the house in Japan for connecting the interior and the exterior.
It was not common recently because houses needed high airtight and insulation.
But I think that houses should open to the outside again to take in sun, lay and wind and ventilating.
I updated the traditional Engawa to the modern concrete ENGAWA. It is also wider than traditional ones so residents not only pass through corridors but also hang out in the living room.
