The site of this house was a housing development which have passed around 40 years since the area had stared selling. There are over 400 numbers of houses but they have no value as a property and people who are living in are not so young anymore. The demands of client are an over 330 square meter land space and enough distances from neighbors for a better privacy.

Then the site was thought as the better conditions because of the low price of land and the density of the development.Suburban housing development is seems dying out in Japana. But if we can think as the sense of this client, it is one of the best place for young genelations to live because it is able to buy the lots very low price and surrounded by the rich nature although it takes around 30 minutes to city area.

At first, it started planning patio style and 115 square meter of the floor area. But there is a restriction about the clif. At this time, it was impossible to build on the half side of the lot. Then the first patio plan was split into two L shapes and the one was put on to another. It makes a pilotis under the cantilevered 2nd floor and the wide balcony upon the master bedroom.

There is the living room over the garage it is split the husband’s library from the family spaces. The entrance hall is also the staircase it is planned as the passage with living room to each rooms. Maximizing family spaces and spaces for moving on the other hand minimizing personal spaces.

It needs the high side window makes interior lighter because there is no window on the north side wall. As if the window popped up from the roof. And it is created as surround the pillars by the glasses. It seems like the lantern of this development in the night time.

It is not true efficiency and convenience creates wealthy life and rich culture. It growing the population who are living far away from the nature and are not able to feel the changing seasons or weather in their life. The quantity of stimulus is thought as the most important index of the life. Communication, art and culture or uniqueness and diversity, as though they didn’t need anymore.

The enough privacy makes people open. Water shower in hot summer, sit in front of fire in cold winter, drinking a cup of coffee, looking swinging trees in the nice breeze. This house was planned for such an old and new wealth suburban life style.

Photo: Yoichi Onoda