nks architects: broken pitched roof house, japan

‘broken pitched roof house’ by nks architects, oita, japanall images courtesy of nks architects

taking cues from medieval towns, the broken ‘pitched roof house’ stands as a castle surrounded by wooden walls and homes in nakatsu, japan.designed by local practice nks architects, the square footprint of the dwelling is broken into four glass-wrapped quadrants divided by four inhabitable poured-in-place concrete walls that contain the entrance, storage, kitchen and bathroom. the roof, integrated into the partitions,curves up like a canvas tent to a skylight at the highest point in the center, illuminating a commonly shared space. the unrestricted circulationflows freely from one room to another, spilling out into the yard through the transparent glass threshold that delineates the peripheral areas. the hardness of the timber plank-textured concrete walls and roof are balanced by the softness of the hardwood floors and the exterior landscape.

living room

(left) living room with a full-height glass wall(right) bedroom with a lower outer wall and wrap-around window

smaller bedroom looking out to the garden

a narrow deck wraps the entire structure creating a threshold to the exterior garden

walls extend to the limits of the site creating four separate garden atmospheres

floor plan / level 0

diagram