yasuhiro yamashita / atelier tekuto: 'village of beauty and health'

‘village of beauty and health’ by tekuto yasuhiro yamashita
image courtesy atelier tekuto

many precious, old japanese traditional wooden houses sit abandoned and neglected
all over japan. atelier tekuto, working together with keio university took notice of these
old traditional wooden houses in shimane, a prefecture famous for izumo taisha, japan’s
oldest shrine and the iwami ginzan silver mine, which has been designated a world
heritage site. tekuto proposed that these houses be transported and relocated to fujisawa city,
a commuter town located in a suburb of tokyo, where they are in high demand. in doing so,
this project hopes to boost the value of these old houses, cut back on carbon dioxide emissions
and revitalize these two areas through this mutually beneficial arrangement. those who
move into and live in these transplanted villages will be blessed with ‘beauty’ and health.
the focus is on agriculture and how to incorporate it into one’s lifestyle, allowing one to
achieve beauty in a healthy way. in a sense, this project is a kind of environmental village
that is not zoned according to function. instead, the location of each building is determined
by an algorithm based method that ensures the use of natural energy and the optimization
of vegetation for agricultural purposes. they believe that this represents one possible method
of urban planning for the 21st century.

concept of ‘village of beauty and health’
image courtesy atelier tekuto

a settlement based around medical facilities, food and shelter
each village is equipped with medical facilities, food and shelter, which is comprised
of 30 to 40 units. the total number of family units would be about 100. the diameter of
the entire village should be less than 200m, encouraging residents to walk around
the three villages, enabling villagers to interact and complement each other.

determining layout by algorithm based method
by integrating residential and agricultural use, urban planning itself is to be changed.
unlike zoning according to function, the place of agriculture and vegetation will
determine the layout.

l: starting from the center the location of a meeting place is first determined, from which the east – west and north south axes
are set accordingly.
r: the location of buildings is plotted in such a way as to avoid being in the shade. data for the amount of sunlight exposure will determine
the optimal placement of vegetation within the village.
image courtesy atelier tekuto

l: layout is based on the agricultural land area required by each family unit – agricultural land in sunny and shady areas.
r: by making time for agricultural activities within their lifestyles, residents contribute to the creation of individual communities
centered around specific plots of land.
image courtesy atelier tekuto