The Villa is located in the sloping site overlooking Old Karuizawa facing east. It is designed to have a simple cubic volume with 9.9 x 9.9 meters in plan.
The house is made up of an “open interior” consisting of living and dining rooms, and the other “closed interior” rooms. The “open interior” is where the space is “carved out” from the cubic volume. This is the “open space” within the enclosed architectural building. On the other hand, the “closed interior” consists of rooms such as private rooms, bathroom, and study that are not visible from the living and dining rooms. Those “closed interior” spaces can be accessed via two stairs entering through the walls of living and dining rooms.
In other words, the design intent is to invite residents to travel between “open space” and “closed space”. In thinking of the concept, what kept in mind was Eduardo Chilida’s sculptures in which he used a chisel to carve out a block of marble to create “spaces”. I wish to design spaces somewhat violent that a mass of architecture itself defines the boundaries.
This concept later went across different scales and led to the idea of Nakanoshima Art Museum.