akio kamiya architect & associates: house in tanimannari

‘house in tanimannari’ by akio kamiya architect & associates in okayama, japan all images courtesy akio kamiya architect & associates image © akio kamiya

japanese practice akio kamiya architect & associates has shared with us images of ‘house in tanimannari’, a two-part renovation project for a young couple in okayama, japan. consisting of a two-storey detached room and a free-standing green house, the design maintains a careful balance between the old and the new, being sensitive to the pre-existing main building while injecting a modern character through materiality and form.

exterior view of greenhouse image © akio kamiya

located west of the main house beyond a parallel-running retaining wall, the greenhouse provides a place to cultivate local muscat grapes. the simple, square-shaped plan is pulled up to a symmetrically-sloping roof form that moulds the space within into a triangular volume. completely transparent save for the stacked stone base, the atmosphere of the interior shifts according to the trajectory of the day; natural daylight filters in through the grapevines and surrounding trees, resulting in a porously shaded space. newly paved with white brick, the greenhouse retains thermal heat during the winter.

entrance elevation image © akio kamiya

transparent roof form and stone base image © akio kamiya

interior view of greenhouse image © akio kamiya

porous shading and white brick floors image © akio kamiya

back facade of greenhouse image © akio kamiya

a former annex that housed two japanese-style rooms and a small storeroom, the detached room utilizes the original structure of the building, maintain the rich identity of the exterior intact. the ground level accommodates an open dining and living space that features a kitchen at the center of its layout. a staircase at the back leads up to a bedroom that overlooks the area below through a set of sliding screens.

exterior view of detached room image © akio kamiya

against the pre-existing main building image © akio kamiya

interior view image © akio kamiya

living space image © akio kamiya

view from above image © akio kamiya

floor and site plan / level 0

floor plan / level +1

cross section / greenhouse

cross section / detached room

project info:

site area: 1519.64 m2 total building area: 309.64 m2 detached room: 62.60 m2 greenhouse: 32.98 m2 total floor area: 377.96 m2 detached room: 89.98 m2 greenhouse: 31.11 m2 structure: wood

akio kamiya architect and associates (2)