The Junsei House / Suyama Peterson Deguchi

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Text description provided by the architects. Designed for a couple interested in simplifying their lives and learning to live with less, The Junsei House was created with a holistic approach to designing architecture that is sustainable. The house’s spaces give one a feeling of completeness, eliminating the need for more things. Simple, efficient and quiet in design, the house is a reaction to today’s technology and offers a refuge in an ever changing, chaotic world. Located in an area once rich in fishing and logging and still supported by commuter ferry, the site is lush with trees. Respectful to the existing landscape and touching the ground minimally, the house is appropriate and compliments its surroundings rather than competing with it. Wishing to honor the existing site, all of the trees were left in place and excess excavation was limited to protect tree roots leaving only 18 feet in width and 80 feet in length for the house. Surrounded by trees and water, nature now becomes the house’s art. Instead of the typical design solutions with unobstructed views to the water, the central tree becomes dominant, and accentuates views and vistas by blocking some while slowly unveiling others as one’s  journey to the water’s destination is created.