Home Design, M House in Nagoya, Japan by Architecture W
October 17th, 2008 - Posted in Home Design
M House that located in one of Nagoya’s more attractive residential neighborhoods is designed to both address the site conditions that rendered the site “unbuildable”, only 2.5 meters of dead end street access and set on a difficult site that steps down from this access level a total of 7 meters by the local real estate community and provide for a simple, modern lifestyle for the American owner/architect and his family.
The project’s simple architecture design by , exposed concrete walls & floors, galvanized metal siding, plasterboard infill walls and white laminate cabinetry – provide a neutrality that is animated as much by the Japanese and Western influences of the the client’s family as it is animated by the site’s vistas, breezes, and passing sunlight.
In addition to the challenge provided by the site itself, the house also addresses the conceptual challenges of planning for a multi generational/multi national family, as well the even bigger challenge of securing precious views, sunlight, and breezes in the context of a cramped traditional Japanese neighborhood. Despite the difficulty in accessing and actually building on the site, it was the property’s one redeeming feature – its location at the edge of a cliff that hovers over the northern part of Nagoya – that inspired the design of the house.
A hybrid structural system made up of simple reinforced concrete, concrete incased steel, and a pair of 3 meter tall steel trusses – all running inside the east and west walls of the house – allow the design to accommodate a variety of site and program conditions while also allowing for the north and south elevations to be composed entirely of sliding glass walls that capture the views, sunlight, and breezes(essential to surviving the smog & humidity present during Nagoya’s summer months) that make this building site so special. more info and photo by visit
