04 JUL 2009

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Primitive Living in Saijo, Hiroshima

exterior view /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

Primitive Living in Saijo – Hiroshima
text by Marcia Argyriades for Yatzer

Design: Suppose Design Office, Japan
Lead Architect: Makoto Tanijiri
Site area: 246 m2
Building area: 50.41 m2
Total floor area: 115.51m2

“When I always create, I think that I want to find the charm of the plan,” claims 35 year old talented architect Makoto Tanijiri, chief architect of Suppose Design Office. In the nine year existence of Suppose Design Office they have built more than 50 works of architecture, almost all single-family homes, among other projects. The impressive number of works completed topped up in 2007 with the modern pit dwelling in Saijo, Hiroshima. In Saijo, a town known for it sake, a jet black pyramid unexpectedly stands out; when first seen it seems as if it’s a house from the future. On the contrast, it’s actually inspired by the earliest house in Japanese architecture; the pit dwelling or the “tateana jukyo”. Constructed during the Yayoi era (200 B.C. – 250 A.D.), pit dwellings were built by digging a circular pit (or rectangular one with rounded edges) fifty or sixty centimeters deep and five to seven meters in diameter, then covering it with a steep thatched roof. Not very different from talented young architects Makoto Tanijiri’s modern day pit dwelling!

living-dining room /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

According to Tanjiri, the clients, a young couple and their three children wanted a unique house, in which the open public part would preserve privacy. The site which was formerly an open field was excavated and the house was sunk a meter into the ground. The soil from the excavations was used to create a protective barrier around the perimeter of the site, and acted as the organic base of the house. The barrier formed is both visual and physical and was planted to create a lush landscape.

entrance /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

The sunken level of the house is communal; the perimeter is constructed by exposed glossy concrete. The sunken level is open plan and consists of the living, kitchen and dining areas. Although it is a meter below ground level it has a lot of natural light as Tanjiri placed ribbon windows running on all four sides. Four inclined black steel V plates were placed at each corner of the ground floor, to support the construction and the other two levels of the pit dwelling. A timber staircase without handrails leads to the first floor where the master bedroom and bath is found; however, it also neatly conceals a washroom located on the ground floor. The master bedroom enjoys a terrace, which is cut into the surface of the pyramid-like construction thus allowing natural light into the master bedroom. A transitional sentiment of calmness and anticipation reveals the perplexed entry into the cone shaped construction through the connection of a minimal steel staircase, artistic and creative, as is usually the case in Japanese houses, where the disorientation in design that the handrail creates is omitted.

kitchen /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

dining table /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

/// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

Nevertheless, the most revealing and striking space of the house, unfolds before our eyes on the second floor where the children’s bedroom is located. The walls ascend and converge at the same time to meet at the skylight. Light vigorously pours through the skylight and into the rest of the house through the central opening where the staircase is located. Not a conventional children’s bedroom, but who is to say that this house according to today’s standards and not the Yayoi’s era is conventional?

space3 // bedroom /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

space 2 // main bedroom /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

Makoto Tanijiri demonstrates that only a mind free of restraints and rules can create a non conventional way of living. Where spatial arrangements and the concept of interpenetrating exterior and interior space is long achieved by Japanese architecture and living. Japanese modern architecture has accomplished designs where austerity thrives; what the westerners call minimal. Japan teaches the western world how to take risks when designing, and break the rules! After all, rules are made to be broken!

/// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

______________________________________________

The CONSTRUCTION process

“We are always thinking about the border line.
Between ambient surrounding and the site, exterior and interior,
Architecture and furniture. The room and another room.
Various relations necessarily include the border line.
Modern ages tried to clarify their border lines as much as possible
However, we think that we have the possibility,
becomes vague by the architecture in the future.
The exterior like the interior architecture like the furniture
We imagine architecture that exceeds the area of it being achieved.
It will become a place were it is more similar to nature.”
- Suppose Design Office /// Design Ideology

sketch // first image by SUPPOSE

under comstruction /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

sources:

SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE

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75
Comment(s)

2009-08-27 09:16:17
Free

ooo "What will the neighbors think???" I'm glad people think for themselves,, no matter where they are in the world. Do people even talk to their neighbors anymore? As for the house, I like it. Definitely something unusual

2009-08-25 11:50:09
tc

Really nice and not common !!!

2009-08-20 21:06:17
lucas

It's a neat design, I'd live there, but... Have you seen the rest of the neighborhood? It doesn't fit there at all. If I didn't live in it, but lived near it, I describe it as "the monolith" to my visiting relatives when I drove them home from the airport. I realize space is at a premium in Japan and clearly their zoning has to account for that, but who wants to be the neighbor of the people who live in the great black pyramid next door?

2009-08-02 12:30:00
Not Telling

and this is "primitive" how, exactly?

2009-07-31 03:19:56
J�rgens

Japan teaches the western world how to take risks when designing, and break the necks! After all, necks are made to be broken!

2009-07-21 22:02:28
David

Really cool architecture and design, and I'm sure it would be a thrill to live in the house, but I would imagine the windows would be really expensive to replace. The hill around the house gives privacy but still allows natural lighting.

2009-07-21 15:58:56
donovan

this is GENUS!!! it is jus wat the kind of thing i want to design!!!! its is simple, yet intimidating, multifunctional, it is just awesome

2009-07-20 05:02:09
Zoltan

mmmm - so cozy

2009-07-19 21:55:15
rae

My god some of you people are entirely too close minded... Its an intriguing design and I think the simplicity is beautiful. If you people wanted cookie cutter homes filled with martha stewart kitchens and gnomes in the lawn why are you here? Better homes and Garden is calling and they want their unimaginative design wannabes back... It is very primitive and desolate. I love the natural privacy fencing with the grass mounds.

2009-07-19 20:47:47
Maria

it's absolutely horrible. ugly, impractical... i mean, those children are going to fall straight through that hole and down the stairs. the teletubby-like landscape. just dreadful. this is where "creativity" reaches the point of absurdity. what about functionality? maybe if it were a public space, like a gallery, it wouldn't be as awful.

2009-07-19 16:34:41
Finfan

I'll bet the neighbors are just ecstatic that this monstrosity is built in their neighborhood. It's cool looking and all but it looks COMPLETELY out of place in that neighborhood.

2009-07-19 10:20:51
Rickrod

Have they ever heard of curtains?

2009-07-19 08:02:42
Angela

I think your home is Absolutely Awesome if I won the lottery I would love it if you could design a home similar to yours!!!Smiles.... Thanks, Ange

2009-07-19 07:55:58
hairland

wow kinda funny because its like all theses regular houses and BAM!!!!!!! pyrimad lol =]

2009-07-19 07:40:17
Patti

Hate it... the look, the function.. hate it. Who would want to look out their window at a berm ... I would feel buried under ground. Or like I was living in a basement.

2009-07-19 06:56:34
cristal

While the structure is interesting and definately not "Cookie-Cutter", it would suck to accidently fall down the holes where the steps are located. Needs GAURD RAILS!

2009-07-19 06:56:06
J

The kitchen blows. It's just a shelf with some Rubbermaid drawers. Oh, and it doesn't have a toilet.

2009-07-19 06:30:32
Lena

Looks like a new prison design

2009-07-19 06:03:25
Marie

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!??! And none of the neighbors complained about this this this . . . . ugh

2009-07-19 05:34:23
Rocky D

I don't see any source of heating/cooling but the house does not appear to be completed. The entire structure appears to be made of plywood with a concrete base/foundation. The exterior seems to be covered with some type of vinyl material and the black color could be a real heat magnet. Shingles might work better The walls aren't really a problem because a few verticle partican walls would "square off" the rooms and the space behind them could be used for insulation/storage and duct work. A heat pump could satisfy both heating & cooling needs.Curtains, shades or reflective film would add privacy and help with cooling costs. As long as there's a good drainage system outside flooding doesn't have to be a problem. Of course railings would be needed if he has children Or he could replace them with a spiral staricase which would also take up less floor space. All in all it's a pretty neat idea, BUT WILL IT WORK IN PHILLY AND FLORIDA ?

2009-07-19 05:21:05
ben

There need be no justification comparing or opposing this design to western thinking, that it is better or worse, or that Orientals are ahead and we are in dysfunctional bondage. I�m not sure that thinking is Oriental, seems to arrogant to me. Its just what the client desires, or perhaps trusted that they wanted, an ingratiating product from a renown designer, perhaps hired to entertain insecurities with something so unique it trespasses into hyperbole. But that wears off eventually, unless they've relentless special needs perpetually clamoring for satisfaction. FLW designed like this while retaining an abundance of practicality. Egyptians liked this too but seemed to rather die first rather than live in it.

2009-07-19 05:13:48
bill

Eventually, they will fill the ground outside with water and a school of koi....personally, i'd make a moat with salt water and stock it with salmon, sea bass, and squid...that way, the family could fish off a rowboat for that evening's sushi....the only problem with the house is you'd need a telescopic flyswatter, perhaps 30 feet long, to smack the insects crawling up the walls....that, and pigeons loitering and pooping on the skylight, but hey...

2009-07-19 04:58:30
Ann Hannibal

Dangerous stairs if one comes home drunk!

2009-07-19 04:56:05
Lin

Individuality is a good thing as well as being unique and untradional , however this house looks like a UFO landed in the middle of the neighborhood. Had this guy had a piece of land off somewhere it would have been easier to digest. Obviously they don't have a homeowner's association to contend with like so many of us do. This is where the association would have been a good thing. I'll give the house an A for it's individuality and use of light.

2009-07-19 04:30:44
sharon

I don't think i would want to live in something like that ... Not practial at all ... looks like it would become a pain !

2009-07-19 03:39:05
Joe Papierz

I love it. There is a small concern over not having hand rails on the stairway and a railing to prevent falling done the stairway opening.

2009-07-19 03:30:24
lovelifeinjapan

I have been living in Japan for 7 years and I was so shocked to see this house! It's very creative, but after living here for so long, it's so strange to see something out of the norm. I mean, everything here is so "uniformed." Being different is usually the opposite goal here! I have been to Hiroshima and I wish I knew about this house when I was there. I would love to see it in person! As for the comment about privacy and hearing whispers, Japanese homes are very thin-walled anyway. I live in a fairly large Japanese house and I can hear everything from anywhere in my house. Japanese concept of "privacy," as someone else stated, is not the same as the Westerner concept. It is VERY different.

2009-07-19 03:21:29
dsfsdf

Free your minds dammit! Dig the spaces!! Does everyone want to live the same way??!! upper floors are unfitted and unfurnished in the photos - I bet it will not have privacy and safety issues once it is furnished. See the blinds in the living room. See the plants not yet mature.

2009-07-19 03:04:48
Vinny

Wow! I would like to see this fully furnished and set up for living so you can picture your self in it.

2009-07-19 02:59:59
c

are you kidding me??? ugly, impractical, totally out of place, 3 floor is a total waste of space, unsafe, no privacy ... let's see ... oh yeah ... ridiculous to the point of embarassing!! Just because something is different doesn't make it art, and certainly doesn't make it home. I bet the neighbors wish the entire house was inverted so they didn't have to look at it. c'mon people! if your neighbor put that up next to your house you'd be pissed! It would at least have a better vibe in a different setting. Perhaps a rugged mountain setting with dark rocks. Still, it's so impractical ...

2009-07-19 02:59:17
MARY

THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL..WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE. THE SPACE FOR FLOWERS ON THE SILLS MAKE ME SO JEALOUS OF THE OWNERS OF THIS HOME

2009-07-19 02:50:01
Mick

If the house were white instead of black, it would be more pleasing to look at. Would also be cool if the skin on the house could somehow change color based upon the amount if light available that day - then at night it could turn back to black.

2009-07-19 01:58:58
MICAHEL HERCHENRODER

i love it it is thr sharpest house i have seen in a real long time

2009-07-19 01:19:20
COWBOY EDMONDS

NEAT-O IDEA. UNUSUAL DESIGN CONCEPT TO SAY THE LEAST. BETTER DESIGN THAN A GEODESIC HOUSE. GOOD USE OF SPACE. THE STAIRS KINDA GIVE ME PAUSE THOUGH. I LIKE IT. CAN I HAVE ONE? WHAT IS THE COST? I LIKE THE OPEN AREA AT GROUND LEVEL. KINDA LIKE A SCREENED-IN PORCH/WORK AREA. NOT MUCH IS SHOWN IN THE FLOOR PLANS. I GUESS YOU'D JUST ABOUT HAVE TO PRE-DESIGN YOUR BEDROOM, LIVING AND KITCHEN AREAS. OWNING THIS KIND OF HOUSE WOULD MAKE ONE THE TALK OF THE CITY. *LOL*

2009-07-19 01:08:30
Mike

Awesome house but what happens to the front steps when it rains? Doesn't it flood?

2009-07-19 00:45:23
Angel

That place is a dump... when it rains the place is a costly 3 foot swimming pool! and cleanning the windows on ground level LOL that place is a joke! What a mistake!

2009-07-17 20:42:15
Joe

I've often wondered why some people see things that are out of the ordinary as cool. Sure it looks "neat-o", but as a dwelling it's unpractical. People in Japan have children. So I doubt the rule of keeping your children safe is a western idea. Why would you put children anywhere near this place? Art yes - home NO.

2009-07-16 22:15:32
Hers

Pietro, the concept of privacy is very different in Japan.

2009-07-16 09:45:47
Matthew

The blog author's editorialized comments are highly exaggerated and a little off the mark. "Makoto Tanijiri demonstrates that only a mind free of restraints and rules can create a non conventional way of living." This is assuming a lot. Doesn't architecture require the designer to juggle many constraints at once (scale, space, site, etc.) that are grounded in physical realities (like, gravity for instance). I'm pretty sure that architecture is all about rules and restraints, although the blog author is right in saying that rules should be broken. However, we don't get this from only the Japanese. Also, have the blog author and other commenters considered Japanese culture in regards to the relationship of the living spaces? Is it possible that these seem less private because the Japanese have different standards of privacy? Maybe I'm the ignorant one here, but I'm pretty sure that not all cultures look at locking doors and sharing rooms in the same way. I agree that the stairs seem needlessly dangerous, but it seems like a good design. Not perfect, but good.

2009-07-14 17:19:03
dee

LOVE IT! =)

2009-07-14 11:34:17
pietro

The sheer lack of privacy inside your own home would truly be a pain... especially as the kids grow up. It seems like a whisper in the kids room could clearly be heard downstairs. Neat concept though, I always support people who strive to improve our way of life by letting us see how radically different simple things can be while maintaining functionality (for the most part)

2009-07-14 01:43:05
Sean

Very interesting concept, particularly the way the ground floor is sunk and protected by the grass "dunes." But the neighbors must be livid. Much nicer looking inside, than outside.

2009-07-13 22:42:12
djf

A truly fascinating house. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. With that said, the reason why nothing else looks like this home is because after thousands of years of building design, we've learned what works and what doesn't. Many of the design aspects of this home would be annoying or downright dangerous to live with. I'm all for innovation, but it isn't like nobody thought of stairs without railings. Sure, it looks neat without railings. But that leaves the children's bedroom with a 2 story drop. Better hope the kids don't need to go to the toilet while half asleep. Innovation is great and this house certainly spurs thought. But it also a horrible design for actual living. Thought provoking, yes. Innovative, perhaps. A good design for living, no.

2009-07-13 11:19:14
Al-Kanz

Just amazing !

2009-07-13 02:40:46
hnawelhik

wow very nice i want the same

2009-07-12 22:36:05
gustavo

me a gustado mucho pueden enviarme mas sobre ustedes a mi mail

2009-07-12 20:09:03
Tyson

It looks to me like the stairs take up to much space in the middle of each floor.

2009-07-12 20:06:17
Dan

Oh my god! I'd live there in a heartbeat!

2009-07-12 18:12:11
Thomas

Its the most beatiful house ive ever seen. Its so innovative, and I'd rather look at such a house then the common muck most houses are today. To say that Western people are judgmental is a bit harsh, most of the times its simple ignorance, which doesn't justify anything of course.

2009-07-12 07:31:55
Clg

Aesthetics aside: I can see serious functional problems with this house. 1) Yes, japan has to consider earthquakes, volcanos, etc...but I believe they also have to consider flooding and that house is intentionally set into a space where everything, EVERYTHING will flow down in towards the house.. 2) On the earthquake note, it really doesn't look stable to withstand one. Unless it's got some crazy support work, that's going to just topple. 3) as someone else mentioned: handrails are lacking and while some would say "well who needs handrails? Learn to go without them!", I would say "yes, because children and elderly are always well balanced enough to not need hand rails and children NEVER race pell-mell around a house where there's possible safety hazards.". 4) And as others have mentioned, sloping walls make furnishing (even the most basic) a pain in the neck. And speaking from my brothers' experience...a sore head getting out of bed. (their old room growing up had a sloped roof and they had loft beds so they could fit in school desks and the like into their room. Good space conservation, careful getting out of bed!)

2009-07-11 20:04:08
Panascakes

I really wouldn't want to mow that lawn.

2009-07-11 07:52:46
david

It is really beautiful and intelligently built. The way it's designed amazes me, someone said something about the miuse of the land, but the hill + this house is really adding some great composition in this space. Good FAQ to know, triangular houses have more than only a shape & design purpose, they are suppose to have some kind of positive energy trick that really help to set a peaceful & balanced environment. I agree they may be some lacks with the entrance to each levels but at this point, you must do concessions on the rational to get a work of art as great as this one. Nice work !

2009-07-11 01:44:09
fred

I did my dissertation on deconstructivism, on how Eisenman created living spaces to make people re-interpret the way they use space to challenge their notion of traditional function. this would've made a pretty good modern case study!

2009-07-10 20:46:43
blimey

I love this house. It's fun it's got soul. it breaks some rules. And actually it does stick out like a sore thumb. OK I'm not sure I'd want to live there forever but compared to the dross around it It's a better bet.

2009-07-10 19:10:41
markj

There is a difference between taking risks, and designing something just for the sake of being different. That house sticks out like a sore thumb in its neighborhood. I can imagine that most of the other neighbors aren't so fond of it. It also makes horrible use of space. The raised area around the edge which looks to be about a meter wide is essentially useless. Both bedrooms have massive holes in the middle of the floor (why would you EVER do that in a kids bedroom?). If the west is going to learn by example from this house, it will only be as an example of what not to do.

2009-07-10 09:41:29
Calgary Graphic Design

The most interesting architecture makes you wonder if it is truly beautiful or really ugly. Concept and function make it more so. Perhaps true beauty really is on the inside!

2009-07-10 01:24:33
Jules

cool yes, but I wouldn't what that in my neighborhood. I wouldn't want to have to look at that everyday.

2009-07-10 01:02:48
daleandersen

Idiotic. But idiotic in a nice way...

2009-07-10 00:16:12
kiko

most of the commenters obviously didn't even read the text and why is it everyone assume that the western rules apply to Japan? when it comes to architecture, one must realize that Japanese also have to consider earthquakes and volcanic erruptions, too. western people are so judgmental.

2009-07-09 22:19:42
robb

pretty nice concept, but i doubt it would make a good living place.

2009-07-09 20:51:22
zachary

yeah, screw handrails!!

2009-07-09 17:09:04
exessati

pretty dangerous

2009-07-09 06:50:39
spriggig

This is right on the edge of violating form follows function, which is a line you can really only cross when creating art rather than a home. It's hard to furnish a space with angled walls. The per-square-foot cost is probably way out of line with comparables in the neighborhood. Lack of privacy moves quickly from titillating to annoying. I suspect the home isn't finished, I'd be surprised if they could get a certificate of occupancy without rails. The parking area needs to be covered at least.

2009-07-09 01:13:54
Sac

wow look at that its amezing nice hause

2009-07-09 01:10:27
Paul

"Japan teaches the western world how to take risks when designing, and break the rules! After all, rules are made to be broken!" Tell that to the local building inspector requiring you to build to code. I think it's pretty cool... but there are many design issues that prevent it from being code compliant.

2009-07-08 23:17:49
Nestor

Interesting, but culturally everything I've heard of Japan tells me people don't like to stand out, fitting in is important, the square peg gets hammered into the round hole, etc etc so I have to wonder just how the surrounding neighbours interact with the resident family. The house does look nifty.

2009-07-08 22:53:28
ECM

Great concept...avoid the outside, open to everywhere... maybe a little bit forced because de site, anyway a place to relax.

2009-07-08 20:09:31
Saurabh

the space could have been used more appropriately if the stairs were out of the building or in one corner.

2009-07-08 19:46:25
Fresh

Interesting. Some concepts are best left as concepts, or maybe the location is what is wrong. No consideration for surrounding architecture, or apparently to the natural landscape. Also, this is far from primitive - minimalistic, yes, primitive, not even close. Negative points aside, this is still a very unique and creative approach to modern living.

2009-07-08 19:14:36
infosam

I admire the aesthetic, but is seems uniquely inappropriate as a family home. The unprotected ledges could permit a careless child to fall 4 - 8 meters through the center shaft of the home.

2009-07-08 18:02:49
Paul

Wow - it looks like a badly drawn building from SimCity 2000! The interior looks much better than the exterior thankfully, so you'd only see the ugly building when you went out/came home - a blessing.

2009-07-08 16:54:46
Mik

Pretty creative, as noted I wonder what the neighbors think and I don't know how long you'd feel comfortable living in it. I can see one or more of the grand kids hurtling around that bedroom and falling straight down the staircase.

2009-07-06 22:05:32
Alex Fischer

This is beautiful. My only problem with it would be the lack of vertical wall space to hang art. Less of a problem since the house is a work of art.

2009-07-06 14:46:57
TApod

Best way how to be most unpopular person in a neighbourhood? :D Think problems with neighbors would be so big, that even good architecture won`t keep you there.

2009-07-04 23:32:49
steve

ooo wonderful! very nice...