Article source: Mitsutomo Matsunami

The owner of the house is a Sushi chef from Wakayama. Dressed in coveralls most of his spare time, he is a big car lover and a mature man who enjoys both his work and hobby.

west side facade2 (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

• Architects: Mitsutomo Matsunami
• Project: Kishigawa Residence
• Location: Kinokawa-County, Wakayama-prefecture, Japan
• Designer: Mitsutomo Matsunami
• Photographer: Mitsutomo Matsunami
• Area : SITE AREA – 161.66 spuare meter
• Total Floor Area: 79.13 spuare meter
• Structure: Tree structure One stories
• Software used: JWWCAD

Approach (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

With masculine clarity, his wishes for a new house were to view from the interior his parked car in a covered garage and to have his evening drink with fish char-grilled over an Irori (traditional Japanese open hearth), but to accommodate only two rooms.

Bathroom (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

The extended landscape of the surrounding area was the decisive factor in determining the house location. In the midst of rice fields, the house site provides a high level of privacy to its resident. The house design evolved into a U-shape with a courtyard through which the resident feels nature close at hand with a vision of opening his own Sushi restaurant on the premises.

Bathroom from Japanese-style room (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

There is no traditional entrance hall; visitors enter the house from the courtyard and through a ground-level connecting space called Doma. The owner’s close connection to the community made it possible to have this open approach to enjoy frequent visits of neighbors and friends, which shows the nature of the locals.

Bedroom from doma (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

His dearest wish came true with the Irori placed in the best location of the house: the center of the living room with a panoramic view over rice fields. Choosing single-story construction instead of double helped to avoid the hustle of meeting complicated fire code requirements which would have resulted in high cost and special equipment for the Irori setup.

Bedroom window (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

The requested number of rooms was easily achieved in a single story as well. The U-shape of the building surrounding its courtyard brings openness into the 533.7 ft2 (49.58m2) space, uniting all adjacent space through the Doma.

Below the floor level storage of bedroom (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

The 320.2 ft2 (29.75m2) covered garage accommodates two cars. The load bearing walls supporting the garage roof are constructed with reinforced concrete on one side and wood on the other, lowering the construction cost as well.

Courtyard (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Through cost assessment and good design effort to meet a budget, a client’s wishes can come true and their goals can be achieved. Residence in Kishigawa accomplishes this in a house with high flexibility and freedom suiting the owner’s open spirit.

Courtyard window from living (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Courtyard window from living2 (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Courtyard window from living3 (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Living (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Living from Japanese-style room (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Living from outside (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

Rooftop gardening of parking (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

View from living (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)

west side facade1 (Image Courtesy Mitsutomo Matsunami)