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House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

House of Reticence by FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects

This house on a wedge of land in Shiga, Japan, is by FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

Called House of Reticence, the house is composed of blocks creating triangular courtyards along the boundary.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The central hallway downstairs leads to a master bedroom, children's room and Japanese room, while the combined living, kitchen and dining space on the upper storey opens onto a balcony.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

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House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

Photographs are by Takumi Ota.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The text below is from Kouichi Kimura:


House of reticence

This house is built on the triangle site with a width of 18 m.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The client has requested to make the best use of the characteristic site form to build a house with both privacy protection and a sense of openness in the house.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The building is composed of the echelon volume successive along the site form, and the high wall.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The landscape-oriented façade, which is one of the external features and brought about by making good use of the site width, allows people’s line of sight to be introduced in the horizontal direction.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The interior space design also takes advantage of the site width. On the first floor the entrance hall is located at the center. On its both ends are the spot gardens that are allocated in the spaces separated by the Japanese room on the irregular site form.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

As the line of sight is designed to be as long as possible, the internal space is visually expanded so as to realize the space that gives an open feeling.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

On the second floor the living room and the balcony are laid out on both ends. In addition, the ceiling of the living room is designed to be higher than that of the other rooms. These designs intensify visual expansion.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

The opening at the upper side of the living room, as well as the glass wall on the balcony where a bench is furnished, is one of the elements that produce a sense of openness.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

By considering the site form to select the locations for the openings and control the line of sight, this house realizes the spaces that give a sense of openness but are closed off to the periphery.

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

Architects: FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects
Location: ShigaJapan
Client: Private
Construction Year: 2010
Site Area: 164,29 m2
Constructed Area: 135,59 m2
Photographs: Takumi Ota

House of Reticence by FORMKouichi Kimura Architects

See also:

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House of Spread by FORM/
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