In the competition for eight houses in Chiba, Japan, Betillon/Dorval‐Bory Architectes aimed for an original architecture that would invent new lifestyles. Drawing inspiration from the analysis made by Junichiro Tanizaki in his famous work, ‘The Praise of Shadows’, the eight houses they propose are actually eight roofs. They are designed off the ground to clear the plot, allowing the parking of vehicles, access to garden and legibility of the landscape by a continuity of the ground. More images and architects’ description after the break.
From the analysis made by Junichiro Tanizaki of the difference between the foundations of the Japanese house and those of the western house, and more specifically in the roof, they decided to go beyond this fascinating analysis. They do so by exploring the concept of roof itself, to offer a new way of inhabiting a space. What would be a house if its roof, heavy and massive, maker of shadow and protective, became the true and only livable space? If we remove the walls, what climatic qualities can be drawn from the attic space?
