Architect Yasuyuki Kitamura incorporates nature into his design
House in Minohshinmachi expresses the idea that it is possible to build a beautiful, interesting house that is also economical. This project was designed for a young couple by Japanese architect, Yasuyuki Kitamura.
The planned site is located in the northernmost part of Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture, and the surrounding development area was blessed by a natural environment. However, many of the houses built in the surrounding area were not much different from those built in the city center. In this environment, the client couple wanted a simple house that would allow them to absorb the richness of nature in their daily life, unlike living in a house built in the city.
The south side of the site faces the road, and the east and west sides are flanked by residential lots. On the north side, the site faces the management road of Satoyama Farm, which was established as a buffer zone for the landslide disaster warning area. The background features the magnificent greenery of Mount Aogai, the northernmost mountain in Minoh City. In addressing this border between the ‘city’ and ‘nature’, a quiet residence with a vague boundary between interior and exterior, in harmony with the surrounding natural environment, was required.
The House is a one-story building with a simple, loosely gabled roof, and the volume is kept low so that it is loosely continuous with the surrounding landscape. Additionally, with a very limited construction budget, the structure was built using conventional wooden construction methods, with all pillars measuring 105mm square, and all of them constructed using ordinary structural metals. A simple symmetrical frame structure with columns spaced one pitch apart, a single longitudinal climbing beam inside and outside, and rafters with narrowed ends are used to ensure high seismic performance and to significantly reduce the construction period.
The interior space is extended by paired openings, a light roof, deep eaves, and large skylights that draw in the trees and blue sky. And by nesting the rooms, an intermediate area was created, blurring the interior and exterior of the building. Two pillars placed in the center of the large space, positioned as architectural components with a small cross section, provide the space with a sense of calm, like standing trees in a forest.
This single architectural gesture establishes the building’s style based on an honest use of materials and a balance between opacity and transparency. Inside the single-storey home, which is divided by slender wooden beams, the kitchen, bath and other functions are contained by a number of nested rectilinear volumes, either white-washed or clad in plywood. Modern and solid, the structures provide a wonderful contrast against the classic, airy envelope. While seemingly light and ethereal, the house is highly earthquake-resistant, thanks to the traditional wooden construction method employed in its making. A new expression in a remarkable setting, the project shows that greatness can be achieved with modest means.
“We have been searching for the future of environmental architecture, and our goal was to reconstruct the forgotten relationship between local character and the surrounding natural environment. The result is a new type of building that, in addition to its high residential performance, feels more like a part of nature than a landscape,” said architect Yasuyuki Kitamura.
In recent years, the demand for housing performance has steadily increased. This building, with its well-balanced shape and large openings, was designed to withstand earthquakes in Japan, a country renowned for such occurences. The house is designed to earthquake resistance grade 3 standards, and with excellent insulation performance standards, resulting in a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
Photo credit: Masashige Akeda
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Michelle Najm from JT+Partners bags Architect of the Year award at Architecture Leaders Awards 2021
Organised by BNC Publishing and Design Middle East, the inaugural Architecture Leaders Awards 2021 acknowledged and rewarded the exceptional architects, projects, and firms in the region. The gala award ceremony took place on March 31 at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk. There were 19 award categories that were given solely on merit and were awarded to commend those most deserving for their ingenuity and hard work, distinguishing them from their competitors and proving them worthy of recognition.
Michelle Najm, JT+Partners, said: “It’s such a great honour to be recognised amongst peers and industry. It’s the result of a lot of hard work and I am looking forward to more opportunities.”
Najm studied Architecture at the Lebanese University of Fine Arts in Beirut. Her professional journey started when I received the prestigious Rifat Chadirji Award for young graduates in Architecture on my Final project, awarded at the end of my master’s degree studies. “My career started at an early stage when I joined Al Salaam International Group for my first paid internship back in 2006. Determined for ongoing progress, I joined JAR Group Architectural Design Team. This is where I developed my first skills as the only woman to work amongst 12 male architects. I was involved in projects across the Middle East and Africa, mainly in the residential, governmental, and commercial sectors. Deep down, always wanting more and going beyond boundaries, I decided to travel abroad. In search of new opportunities, I joined JT+Partners Design team in Dubai in 2015. At first it was particularly challenging to work in a completely new environment away from family and friends. Nevertheless, working with a multicultural team (16 nationalities) and learning from experienced colleagues around I was involved in projects from inception to completion and this is when I discovered and unlocked my true potentials,” said Najm.
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Dubai-based landscape architect Will Bennett launches WILDEN Design
Award-winning Dubai-based landscape architect Will Bennett launches WILDEN Design, a new sustainable landscaping boutique to encourage people to foster and stimulate natural habitats that can thrive in the UAE, by offering clients inspiring, contemporary gardens created using landscaping practices that have a lower environmental impact.
“There is a huge movement globally to live sustainably and to regenerate landscapes for our shared benefit, and this has really inspired the ethos behind WILDEN Design,” says founder Will Bennett. “My mission extends beyond designing beautiful gardens — I want to inspire people to connect to the nature that is on their doorstep in the most meaningful way that I can, by understanding the environment around us and by nurturing it. If we all start to take care of the little piece of the planet that we call home, this behaviour will snowball into helping to conserve and improve the wider world around us.”
WILDEN Design’s landscaping practices focus on using locally-sourced and manufactured materials, and plant and grass species that are indigenous to the GCC or from similar arid climates. Such practices help to minimise resources used in construction and maintenance, whilst generating strong, flourishing ecosystems in residential gardens across the Emirates.
Catering to a growing demand for online consultation, WILDEN Design provides clients with a seamless digital design experience through its website www.wildendesign.com, which employs innovative technologies to map out a client’s plot. Customers receive a bespoke landscape design according to their brief and budget or they can choose from a range of pre-designed thematic gardens that are customised to suit the required plot.
“Every garden, yard, patio and even balcony in the UAE has the potential to generate a thriving natural habitat for people to enjoy and cherish,” says Will. “It doesn’t matter what the scale is — whether it’s ten people or ten thousand — if someone hears my message and is inspired to create a beautiful garden that encourages biodiversity, reduces waste and has a positive climate change impact, then that’s my goal achieved.”
Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola designs for furniture brand ETEL
ETEL, the leading Brazilian furniture maker, debuts its first international collection with two projects designed by Patricia Urquiola.
ETEL has worked with Patricia Urquiola sharing her similar affinity towards the innovative research on materials, passion for challenge, sensibility on sustainability while exalting high craftsmanship. Urquiola has designed four new products: a console, two side-tables, and a tea trolley.