dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
image © takumi ota
all images courtesy of dgt architects

 

 

 

parisian firm dgt recently completed a house for a client in oiso under the simple brief that it must belong to the land and ‘will remain for 100 years’. the name, ‘house for oiso’ implies the conceptual backbone for the design- the home was to be built for the site and not just be located on it. with this in mind, the architects took to a slight excavation into the ground to acquire some of the native soil but also to benefit from the ground’s natural insulating properties. the ground floor consists of a central rectangular core that stretches the length of the property.
dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
front etrance
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
opaque walls follow the street-side
image © takumi ota

 

 

 

wings spaced rhythmically along the sides expand from the core to meet the curved property line and form coves that contain various programmatic elements. in between the opaque volumes, glass walls envelope the central rectangular area hidden by carefully placed trees to open the interior circulation to the exterior. the ground floor and walls are clad in the soil recovered from excavation so that the structure itself is resurrected from the land and its history. the properties of the specific soil also help with energy efficiency throughout the seasons in conjunction with the radiant floor heating.

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
image © takumi ota

 

 

 

sitting atop this grey earthen foundation is a secondary timber-clad structure that seems as a separate building altogether. in contrast to the base, the upper story is characterized by a rich palette of curved wood panels that cover every surface of the interior. while the ground floor is composed of opaque forms, the upstairs is instead flooded with light from a large window that extends the entire length of the room, looking out onto the neighborhood. scaling the circular staircase leads to a hard datum created by the two dichotomous structures, where the wooden ‘bird’s nest’ meets the plastered base.

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
glass walls between the plastered volumes allow natural light to the interior
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
central core and kitchen
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
master bathroom
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
tatami room on the ground level
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
staircase detail
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
stairs to the upstairs space reveals timber structure sitting on the grey foundation
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
upstairs room
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
conceptual material model
image © takumi ota

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation
floor plan / level 0

 

 

dgt creates house in oiso with timber volume on earthen foundation

floor plan / level 1

 

 

 

project info:

 

 

status:    completed
location:    oiso, japan
dates:    2012-2015
area:    122 m²
commission type:    private
client:    private
program:    residence for family
architect:    dgt, paris
structure:    yasuhirokaneda structure, paris
mechanical engineer:    eos plus, tokyo
construction:    eiko construction, yokohama
photography:     takumi ota