The Belvedere Casa by Chikako Matsuo is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 A' Design Award de Hierro in Diseño de Arquitectura, Edificación y Estructuras Competition Category.

HierroArquitectura· 2024

The Belvedere Casa

by Chikako Matsuo

Client: Ichiekensho Co.Ltd.

A' Design Award de Hierro Winner in Arquitectura Category

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Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #157993

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Colors

The Design

About The Belvedere Casa

El Belvedere es una vivienda de una sola planta construida sobre una colina en Okayama, Japón. La casa está organizada como un museo, de modo que una colección de arte pueda exhibirse y disfrutarse a diario. Todos los muros son de ladrillo, un acabado sencillo que se integra con la naturaleza circundante. La entrada envuelve la casa, y el porche cuenta con un luminoso techo revestido de paneles de madera. La piedra de Towada, procedente de la prefectura de Akita, recubre la zona de acceso. Un corredor plano conduce a un espacio de galería con obras de arte e iluminación decorativa. Dos jardines interiores y lucernarios cenitales introducen la luz natural en la planta alargada.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Hierro

The Belvedere Casa ha ganado el A' Design Award de Hierro, un reconocimiento prestigioso concedido a buenos diseños que cumplen los requisitos profesionales e industriales que se esperan de creaciones bien diseñadas. Los ganadores de Hierro demuestran gran habilidad, alta especialización, comprensión experta y capacidad creativa de sus creadores. Se espera que The Belvedere Casa sea una creación muy apreciada, admirada y querida, práctica e innovadora. Este diseño ganador del A' Design Award de Hierro integra las mejores prácticas del sector y tiene características técnicas competentes unidas a conocimiento práctico y talento. The Belvedere Casa es respetado por su minuciosidad y está concebido para aportar mejoras en la calidad de vida que ayudan a hacer del mundo un lugar mejor.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: All the walls of this house are made of brick, which may seem monotonous, but it blends in perfectly with the surrounding nature and never becomes boring.The entranceway is designed to wrap around the house, and visitors are greeted by a porch with a brightly wood paneled ceiling. The entranceway is richly covered with Towada stone, which is mined only in Akita Prefecture, Japan.The flat corridor leads to a gallery space where visitors can enjoy artwork and beautiful lighting fixtures.
Dimensions & Packaging: Surface area 961.40 square metre
Bed area 335.77 square metre
Structure Wood
Tags: house, green, japan, Architecture, hill, nature
Production Technology: The wooden structure has a flat roof and has a considerable amount of insulation on it.
Design Challenge: The house is a long one-story building that requires adequate lighting. As per the client's request we avoided installing windows on the street side to maintain privacy. However we solved this problem by constructing two gardens in the middle of the building and incorporating top lights to ensure proper illumination.
Research: The house is a spacious single-story building situated on a hill with no other structures around it. As a result, we had extensive conversations on how to tackle the issue of summer heat. We resolved the problem by incorporating a substantial amount of insulation material on the roof and creating an air layer between the ceiling and the roof. Furthermore, we installed only a minimal amount of windows on the west side to enjoy the scenic view.
Inspiration: The client is very interested in art and artifacts and wanted a space where he could display his collection and enjoy it daily, so we proposed a house where he could enjoy his works as if it were a museum.
The proposed site for the house is on a hill, so we designed the house to be imposing, and the colors were chosen so as not to detract from the surrounding landscape.
Project Duration: Hayashima-cho, Tsukubo-gun, Okayama, Japan
Project period 3 years Completion in 2022
Operation Flow: The owner of this house was very specific about the materials used, such as wood, natural stone, and tiles, to achieve high quality. To ensure that the exterior stayed visually appealing even after many years of residency, it was designed on a traditional Japanese roof with deep eaves, while also making sure that the windows and doors were not visible.
Image Credits: Photographer Senichiro Nogami