Villa MKZ

Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura

Villa MKZ / Takeshi Hirobe Architects

Takeshi Hirobe Architects

AREA
371 M²

YEAR
2021

PROJEC TEAM
Takeshi Hirobe, Ikue Saito, Risa Makino

PHOTOGRAPHS
Koichi Torimura

LOCATION
Minamiboso, Japan

CATEGORY
Houses

The footprint of this vacation home dances around the complex conditions of the site.

Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura

Although the site is splendidly situated overlooking an ocean view to the southeast, there is an elevation gap of about 1.4 meters in the center, around an outcropping of bedrock, and an unbuildable area cutting into the property on the street side.

By necessity, the detached building housing a two-car garage, and the guest room is situated on the east side, where the elevation gap is smallest, but the client requested that the main house weaves around the difficult site conditions.

At our first client presentation, we proposed a plan comprised of interconnected triangles, but this design was not rigidly fixed; rather, our approach allowed for the forms to be adjusted by “pinching” the roof peaks as we developed a more detailed plan.

Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ

And in fact, as we continued with the design process, we gradually adjusted the peaks in response to client requests regarding the interior, so that each roof segment contained a space appropriately scaled for its use.

Our Phase Dance project (2019) employed a similar approach, which we dubbed “modal planning”—a flexible method that allows us to vary the scale of spaces according to how they are used, instead of controlling the overall form through a powerful geometric principle.

Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura

The roof slabs, which amplify the triangular shapes of the footprint, are supported by polygonal columns that vary in form throughout the home, and, in places, by bearing walls.

Interior air volume requirements determined the rhythm of the slabs and the volumes of the spaces they enclose.

Rooms facing the sea connect to one another, twisting to the east and west to create a sequence of spaces.

Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura

The roof slabs, which amplify the triangular shapes of the footprint, are supported by polygonal columns that vary in form throughout the home, and, in places, by bearing walls.

Interior air volume requirements determined the rhythm of the slabs and the volumes of the spaces they enclose.

Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura

Rooms facing the sea connect to one another, twisting to the east and west to create a sequence of spaces.


Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura
Villa MKZ
© Koichi Torimura


Villa MKZ
Plan - Site
Villa MKZ
Plan
Villa MKZ
Plan - Anex
Villa MKZ
Section