The building is located in the quiet villa area at the foot of a mount Daisen. This mountain is crowded with skiers in the winter and climber in the summer. In the project of this time, we are aiming to house make the inhabitant feel familiar to nature in the room. The two storied building designed like a shed placed position where does not need to cut down the existing trees as much as possible. Outer surface of this building is wrapped up by sliding screens containing slits of glass and inside area is surrounded intermediate space. The reflection of trees in glass surface makes the building a part of landscape.
Like Shoji, the sliding screen doesn’t block the light that wraps up the interior space, can be easily open and close in response to the external environment. It can easily adjust of the relationship between inside and outside just like changing clothing. On the inside of the sliding screen made of the slit glass and black cedar board, there are sliding doors of double-glazed glass and the space that is an intermediate space (air layer) between them, so inside area is protected by three layers.
By wrapping up with sliding screen, intermediate space appeared on the inside of it. The spatial construction of this building is designed to use Engawa (Japanese traditional space) as reference. This empty space placed on the boundary between interior and exterior make life in the building connect to nature. Ambiguous space that becomes buffer zone between the exterior and the interior keeps inside space calm and comfortable. Because it serves to block the heat and cold, without missing the warmth of floor heating and wood-burning stove, inside space of the building is kept warm.
In the summer, if sliding screens are opened, boundary of inside and outside becomes ambiguous, and inhabitant can feel familiar to nature in the room. Even opening sliding screens if moderately cold, in the winter, the interior space wrapped up by inside screen of wooden sash and double glazed glass, is kept comfortable. When cold is severe, the sliding screen of the outermost is closed to ensure the warmth. Even in such a case, natural light pass through a slit of sliding screen, so that you can feel the nature.