The Pitched Roof 住宅 by Takaharu Tezuka and Yui Tezuka

The Pitched Roof 住宅 by Takaharu Tezuka and Yui Tezuka is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 建築、樓宇及結構設計 Competition Category.

銀建築· 2021

The Pitched Roof 住宅

by Takaharu Tezuka and Yui Tezuka

Client: Tezuka Architects

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 建築 Category

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The Design

About The Pitched Roof 住宅

「斜屋頂」係位於日本輕井澤嘅一間單層住宅，覆蓋住一個極之簡約嘅斜屋頂。屋頂之下嘅空間只有四成係封閉起嚟，所以室內同室外之間嘅界線保持柔和。懸臂式屋頂伸展超過六米，而結構厚度僅得二百毫米。一個摺疊嘅L形面充當單體結構元件，減少所需嘅支撐。趟門讓住戶可以改變生活空間嘅特質。呢間住宅重新演繹咗日本傳統建築嘅深邃屋簷。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

The Pitched Roof 住宅是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計The Pitched Roof 住宅將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。The Pitched Roof 住宅是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: This is a house located in Karuizawa, Japan with an extremely simple pitched roof. Traditional Japanese houses do not create enclosed environments but instead, form spaces that enable easy transition from the inside to the outside. By forming a blurred boundary, only forty percent of the space under the roof is enclosed within the interior. While the inside is being used primarily by the inhabitants as living spaces, it is the outside that defines it.
Dimensions & Packaging: Floor: Single floor
Ceiling Height: 2,100 mm
Roof Height: 3.446 mm
Site Area: 1,059.18 m2
Floor Area: 208.56 m2
Tags: House, Pitched Roof, Cantilevered, Japanese, Deep eaves, Boundary, Wood structure,
Production Technology: The cantilevered roof of over 6 meters, pushes the limit of the 200mm thick roof structure. By adopting a folded shape as the main structural element, it minimizes the support needed as compared to having a flat roof, which would require three times more of the support utilized. Like the Japanese papercraft, Origami, the L-shaped surface acts as a monocoque element – not resisting stiff but drooping about 5 centimeters under snow pressure like tree branches in the forest.
Design Challenge: In Traditional Japanese Houses, the space under the eaves is often associated with columns. However, these columns serve purely as structural elements to support the cantilevered edges and are not crucial in enclosing the space. Had technology been much more advanced, we would have been able to design without columns years ago. We are now able to achieve the real intricate quality of open spaces in Japanese Architecture - a feat that was not possible for carpenters 400 years ago.
Research: The pitched roof house is trying to reach a certain level of mutability by re-interpreting the traditional elements into modern context. In aiming to heighten qualities of architectural mutability, the work is tied into a long tradition of Japanese vernacular architecture known for its sliding doors, screens, and other boundary-modulating elements, such as deep eaves. These elements not only create the spatial fluidity, but also open the architecture to life-giving elements of sunlight, wind, and humidity, modestly scaled the ubiquitous digital lifestyle with a return of nature.
Inspiration: Deep eaves, as one of the most important Japanese traditional architecture elements in local monsoon climate, are almost extinct in modern houses. It is essential to comprehend the meaning of these traditional elements in the modern setting. With the latest technology, the house seek to reinterpret the deep eave in the context of a humid climate, retain and create more opportunities for these distinctive Japanese qualities to sprout forth in modern architecture.
Project Duration: The project started in July 2007 and finished in May 2009 in Karuizawa, Japan
Operation Flow: The house is designed for a well-known Japanese pop songwriter who wanted to create a place where he could disconnect from the pressures of daily life. The space enclosed enables the inhabitants to perform their basic living tasks while open space under the deep eaves allows them to connect to nature and the surroundings. The sliding doors which divide the inside from the outside can be used to realize the shift in ambiance within the living space.
Team Members: Constructor: Niitsugumi Co., Ltd.
Structure: OHNO-JAPAN
Lighting: BONBOLI Lighting Architect & Associates
Landscape: GA Yamazaki
Image Credits: Image #1: Photographer Katsuhisa Kida, FOTOTECA, 2009.
Image #2: Photographer Katsuhisa Kida, FOTOTECA, 2009.
Image #3: Photographer Katsuhisa Kida, FOTOTECA, 2009.
Image #4: Photographer Katsuhisa Kida, FOTOTECA, 2009.
Image #5: Photographer Katsuhisa Kida, FOTOTECA, 2009.