Iron Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2024

The Belvedere House

by Chikako Matsuo

A' Design Award 2024 Iron Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Awarded April 15, 2024
CLIENT: Ichiekensho Co.Ltd.
Estimated Number of Design Views: 11,532
Verification code C76D4E5203 · Verify this award

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About The Belvedere House

The Belvedere is a single-story house built on a hill in Okayama, Japan. The house is arranged like a museum, so that an art collection can be displayed and enjoyed every day. All the walls are made of brick, a simple finish that blends with the surrounding nature. The entrance wraps around the house, and the porch has a bright wood paneled ceiling. Towada stone from Akita Prefecture covers the entrance area. A flat corridor leads to a gallery space with artwork and decorative lighting. Two inner gardens and top lights bring daylight into the long plan.

Press Kit

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.
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.
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.
Image Credits: Photographer Senichiro Nogami