ritto house by ALTS design office
all images courtesy of ALTS design office

 

 

 

 

 

ALTS design office has designed a humble home situated in the rural landscape of shiga, japan. the ‘ritto house’ offers a minimal program to create a comforting environment and modest accommodation for a family. the one story dwelling unifies forms that are centralized around a common room. the pure wood interior accentuates the warm residence that is plentiful with natural light. a slanted roof exposes large north-facing windows, which positioned at the top of the structure to collect an abundance of ambient daylight. the property is divided into five areas, the largest designated for a living and dining spaces that act as a gathering veranda; merging the indoor and outdoors. furthermore, a traditional tatami mat space can be integrated into the area, or hidden by sliding rice-paper framed partitions.

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expansive windows add a defining element to exterior of the home

 

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stone graveling leads right into the entryway that is partially enclosed as an atrium

 

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wood accents from flooring to roof as seen from the tatami room

 

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views out toward the landscape from the common area

 

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the slanted roof fills the common area with ambient light

 

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the common area unifies the ‘ritto house’ flanked by kitchen and tatami mat room

 

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detail of the wooden furnishings

 

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project info:

project name: ritto house
location: shiga/japan
architect: alts design office
design team: sumiou mizumoto / yoshitaka kuga
levels: 1
gross area: 71.33 sq m
completed: march 2014