House In The Forest

Office Ten Architecture

ARCHITECTS
Office Ten Architecture

LEAD ARCHITECT
Anders Luhr & Erika Suzuki

BUILDER
Kobayashi

PHOTOGRAPHS
Kazuhisa Kouta

AREA
53 m²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Yamanashi, Japan

CATEGORY
Houses

English description provided by the architects.

Appearance, construction and performance should go hand in hand. This forest retreat was designed to maintain a cool indoor temperature during the hot Japanese summers.

Only an hour and a half from their home in Tokyo, this red cottage provides a retreat for the owners from their urban city life.

An escape from the city is good for the body and soul, especially during the hot and humid summer.

Situated in the presence of Mount Fuji and close to the scenic Sai Lake, this cottage blends images of Scandinavian cottages with a roof geometry that nods to traditional Japanese shrine architecture.

The whole building is designed around a grid set out in accordance with the standard construction material size in Japan.

This is the size of the tatami mat, a rectangle measuring approximately 90 x 180 cm. The grid then dictates the rules of the layout.

Every architectural element is a multiple of this size, which ensures a certain efficiency in material use and labour.

A dramatic interior is created by the tall roof, which is supported internally by a tree-like column made from local cedar timber.

As hot air rises, it is expelled in vents on either side of the clerestory window, creating a stack effect that in turn draws in air from the cool surrounding forest floor.