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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Four Leaves Villa Emanates Stillness
HomesThida Sachathep

Four Leaves Villa Emanates Stillness

Japan

Four Leaves Villa is a weekend home that not only looks like a pile of leaves, but was also inspired by one.


When Tadao Ando said, “We borrow from nature the space upon which we build,” he was not directly talking about Four Leaves Villa by Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS), but he may as well have been.

Throughout Japan, the fine line between the built and natural environment is a blurred one. One of the country’s leading architecture and design studios, KIAS, has utilised this concept to form an innovative and cutting edge design for a client’s holiday house. Located 150 kilometres from Tokyo, the residence is located in the Nagano district, a mountainous terrain rich with greenery.

Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi

Sympathetic to the natural world, the environmentally sensitive structure of Four Leaves Villa creates an honest dialogue between architecture and site. This is primarily evident with the concave and convex roof configuration. Divided by interconnected volumes, each of the curved roof surfaces resembles gently twisted leaves with slopes that join on top and arch over each other. The straight laminated veneer timber joists are left exposed on the ceiling, forming a sea of geometric and organic shapes. Internally, the ceiling beams are left exposed to detail high dark wood ceilings. This ceiling form does not just respond to the site, but also reacts to the exterior environment through the sun, wind and weather patterns, while also aiding in storm and rainwater drainage.

An aerial view of the villa reveals a picturesque landscape of fallen leaves, an aesthetic inspiration from the natural world. This references the dominant aesthetic features apparent within Japanese heritage designs, but with a contemporary twist.

Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi

The purpose of architecture is not just to create a building, but also to create an atmosphere that will enmesh itself within a context. It is for this reason that each room within Four Leaves Villa is oriented differently to maximise natural light and scenic views. Specifically, the living and dining space face southeast for increased brightness, while the master bedroom and bathroom face west, fitting cosily into a densely wooded area of the forest. Completed with a central courtyard, the Four Leaves Villa is an exemplary use of “architecture as an aggregate of diverse living spaces,” explains the designer, and is an integration that occurs as a result of blending nature with built context.

KIAS
kias.co.jp
Photography by Norihito Yamauchi

Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves Villa Japan KIAS CC Norihito Yamauchi

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About the Author

Thida Sachathep

Tags

ArchitectureInterior ArchitectureInterior Designjapankentaor ishida archiects studiokiasNaganonatureResidential designTadao Ando


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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