House in Saidera / Akio Isshiki Architects

The site is a flagpole-shaped lot located amid a mixture of traditional Japanese houses and contemporary developer-built homes. In designing a house for a family of five suited to this place, the image I had in mind was that of a traditional Japanese house. Timber framing is exposed through shinkabe construction (shinkabe: a traditional Japanese method in which columns and beams are expressed), resulting in a stripped-down appearance free of excess. At a time when construction costs continue to rise, I believe that reconsidering the wisdom embedded in traditional Japanese houses was a rational approach.