Description

This 114 m² house was commissioned by a son for his sick mother. The architect designed a house without openings in the walls, except for the front and rear entrances. The house is lit via 37 skylights, five of which can be opened. The result is an introverted building, a kind of wooden treasure chest that is lit solely through the roof; the inside is essentially a two-storey piece of furniture.

The structure is based on the traditional Itakura timber construction method: grooved columns between which horizontal tongue and groove boards are inserted. The outer wall consists of two 30 mm thick layers of cedar boards with insulation between them. Everything is made of cedar and cypress.

An important aspect of the house is the way in which the purely private areas are interwoven with those that are also accessible to visitors.

Originally published in Bauwelt 10.2020, pp. 34-37, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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