This is the house for the weekend. A client needed a second house as a place to spend a good time with his family and also friends. Its concept is to manage a good balance between public space where to be hold a reception and comfortable private space even when the visitors are there.

The lot is located at a ridge mountain like a back of a horse and the open view spread out to south-north and east. However, there is few flat ground for preparing park a lot and the path leads to the house. The most important thing is how to solve this difference in altitude.

Two small cubicles with the function in the living room are designed like a column for supporting the ceiling and even the floor, which are made by the same texture. These are covered by the same wood, Japanese cedar, as the exterior wall and there is the　minimum size opening. All rest of wall of the house is glass window.

To open every window allows the room to merge into its surrounding nature. What the important to construct with its environment is that “to design a place” instead of “to design architecture”.

Location: Karuizawa, Nagano
Category: Residential