Sakurai House / Ken Yokogawa Architect & Associates

Architects

Ken Yokogawa Architect & Associates
Location

Tateyama, Japan
Architect in Charge

Ken Yokogawa, Kazunori Yadomoto, Takamichi Kawakatsu
Structural Engineers

Ryozo Umezawa, Motonori Toyama
Landscape Designer

GA Yamazaki
General Contractor

Takuji Miyashita, Kazuki Shimomoto
Area

267.29 sqm
Project Year

2009
Photographs

Shinkenchiku-sha Co., Ltd., Ken Yokogawa

Text description provided by the architects. The particular site possesses a very wide view of the sea, so I had difficulty finding the cornerstone. This led me to a solution where I lifted the entire building and located the entrance at most natural approach possible. I used this position as the structural core and starting point for the overall design.　The upper part above the pilotis supported by the RC is a hybrid structure constituting a polyhedral roof frame, made of wood and steel-frame truss. The footprint is slim and long, forming an L-shape. The private zone, which includes the master bedroom, is on the approach side and the main room has a 12-meter opening which enables a panoramic view toward the sea, with the entire structure(5m×20m) lifted above ground.

The wooden lattice KANGU (furniture used to design or control a space) leading up from the entrance of the RC core on the first floor is a staircase creating a vertical flow. This also serves as a boundary for the main room space, one that does not require a partition or door. Above, one finds a gallery leading up to the loft. The narrative expressed by the spatial changes from the polyhedral roof frame and the KANGU result in creating a sense of unchanging stability a sense of unhurried joy of living in the villa.