A House that Blends into the Surrounding Mountains
In Usuki, Kyushu Island, this house with a gently sloping roof can be scaled to admire the surrounding landscape.
© Toshiyuki Yano
While Usuki on Kyushu Island is known for its stone buddhas, it could equally become famous for its façade-less house, whose gently sloping roof (24 degrees) meets the ground directly. The low degree of this slope makes it possible to climb onto the roof to sit there and admire the surroundings, which are filled with soaring reliefs and sloping plains. Its architecture, which stands out among the more traditional houses around it, was designed to allow its inhabitants to make the most of the landscape while respecting it.
The 98-square-metre house, created by architect Kenta Eto, was designed across two floors (the lower floor is reserved for the communal areas and the main bedroom, while the upper floor is home to a games room and a children’s bedroom). Where the floor and the base of the roof meet, there is a small interior garden, a feature that evokes a roof terrace and further blurs the boundaries between inside and outside.
More information on this house is available on architect Kenta Eto’s website.
© Toshiyuki Yano
© Toshiyuki Yano
© Toshiyuki Yano
© Toshiyuki Yano
© Toshiyuki Yano
TRENDING
-
Tracing the Origins of Mingei, Japan’s Folk Art Movement
A century after its inception, Professor Takuji Hamada reflects on the philosophy that shaped Japanese art history.
-
The Tattoos that Marked the Criminals of the Edo Period
Traditional tattoos were strong signifiers; murderers had head tattoos, while theft might result in an arm tattoo.
-
‘Nobody Knows’, a Life Hidden from View
This film from Hirokazu Kore-Eda, inspired by a true story, depicts four children left to fend for themselves in a Tokyo apartment.
-
AD TRAVELAt the Forefront of Craftsmanship in Mie, Where Tradition Meets Innovation
From Banko pottery to pearl culture, aromatic seaweed, and sparkling sake, the region is reinventing itself sustainably.
-
The Tradition of the Black Eggs of Mount Hakone
In the volcanic valley of Owakudani, curious looking black eggs with beneficial properties are cooked in the sulphurous waters.
