Residential ArchitectureHousesHouse in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

House in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

House in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

Project: House in Kyoto
Architects: 07beach
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Year 2019
Area: 131.0 m2
Photographer: Yosuke Ohtake
Text by 07beach

The house is for a couple and their three little children, located in a quiet residential area in northern Kyoto city. The site environment is where neighbor houses are standing at the edge of the east, west, south boundary, and houses are lined on the other side of the north narrow road.

House in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

The specific requests at the beginning were not so many. Their needs came to clear little by little, as various plans were proposed. Since the couple preferred simple and open plan and also they must keep watching their three children are constantly moving, the house in Kyoto was designed as one big space, placing the double-height living room at the center so that they can see where and who does what.

House in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

After placing car parking at the front and laying out required inner rooms, enough space for a garden was hardly left at the back side of the site, and there are neighbor’s walls blocking closely even if the windows are opened on the outer walls. Therefore, it was considered that taking a courtyard was effective in terms of daylighting as well.

House in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

However, a courtyard enclosed with glazed walls in a limited width of the site makes the left space tight, thus, the indoor tree idea that is as if a courtyard drew into the room inside came up in mind. 
It is expected that the tree which will grow close to three children will strengthen the relationship between the family and the house as if the tree is another member of the family.

House in Kyoto That Combines Modern Structure with Traditional Japanese Style

Finishings were chosen in the balance between the modern structure of the house and traditional Japanese style from the husband’s preference.
 The bathroom was placed in the middle of the house facing the living room so that the husband who likes taking bath above all could enjoy it with his children like an open-air bath, looking at the trees.
 Although a curtain-rail was set in the bathroom just in case, even after a few months of living there, it seems the family got used to the exposed bathroom as they are still using it without a curtain.
 It is like the character of the residents and the house got very close now after a lot of discussions spending time, designing back and forth.

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

traditional Japanese style, 07beach studio

plan, macheta

Subscribe to our newsletter

A Metamorphosis of a Small Apartment of 46 m² into a Bright Contemporary Spatial Experience

In Barcelona, a metamorphosis of a small apartment of 46 m² (151 ft) into a bright contemporary spatial experience, reminds us that the natural light is the supreme of all architectural materials.

What to Consider When Buying a Sustainable Home

Eco-friendly building materials reduce dependency on natural resources, such as gas and oil, and lower energy usage.

La Grange Landscape by Murray Legge Architecture

The La Grange Landscape project was created as part of a landscape intervention for a house perched on a bluff overlooking the forest and farmland of Colorado River basin seventy miles east of Austin.

Elemental House in Vermont / Elizabeth Herrmann Architecture + Design

On a rural hillside property encircled by fern-carpeted woods with breathtaking Green Mountain views, owners of the Elemental House envisioned a home enveloped by nature where they could relax with family and friends

Flamengo Apartment by Nop Arquitetura

When the young client (single, in his 30s) arrived at the NOP Office Architecture, the architects Lívia Ornellas and Philippe Nunes saw the possibility of innovating.

Recommended Stories