The Belvedere Domus by Chikako Matsuo is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Praemium A' Design Award Ferreum in Architectura Competition Category.

FerrumArchitectura· 2024

The Belvedere Domus

by Chikako Matsuo

Client: Ichiekensho Co.Ltd.

Praemium A' Design Award Ferreum Winner in Architectura Category

11,675

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #157993

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About The Belvedere Domus

Belvedere est domus unius tabulati in colle apud Okayama, in Iaponia exstructa. Domus instar musei disposita est, ut collectio artium cotidie exponi et spectari possit. Omnes parietes ex latere coctili facti sunt, simplici cultu qui cum natura circumiacente miscetur. Aditus domum circumdat, et porticus tectum lignis nitidis contabulatum habet. Lapis Towada ex provincia Akita aream aditus tegit. Andron planus ad spatium pinacothecae ducit, ubi opera artis et luminaria ornamentalia collocantur. Duo horti interiores et lumina superiora lucem diurnam in longam formam inducunt.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Ferreum

The Belvedere Domus victor est Praemii A' Design Award Ferreum, honoris amplissimi formis bonis dati, quae postulatis professionalibus et industrialibus ab creationibus bene formatis exspectatis satisfaciunt. Victores Ferrei magnam peritiam, altam specializationem, intellectum periti et facultatem creandi auctorum suorum ostendunt. Exspectatur The Belvedere Domus creationem multum aestimatam, admiratam et carissimam, practicam et novam fore. Haec forma Ferreo victa optimas industriae consuetudines integrat et proprietates technicas idoneas, cum scientia et talento coniunctas, habet. The Belvedere Domus ob diligentiam suam honoratur et ad vitae qualitatem emendandam formatum est, ut mundum meliorem reddere iuvet.

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