tomohiro hata constructs the 'ground house' in response to the density of osaka

tomohiro hata architect and associates constructs the ‘ground house’ in a concentrated urban neighborhood of osaka, japan. the concept behind the design of the house was born of the architect’s speculation that the site was once characterized by rich vegetation overflowing from the adjacent mountain range. the architect thus looked toward the geographical features of the region to develop a new ‘micro-topography’ of concrete slabs. the studio comments: ‘we searched for a form of architecture as if a micro-topography turns itself into an architecture to answer carefully the whisper of small environment.’

images courtesy of tomohiro hata architect and associates

tomohiro hata architect and associates initially designed the ‘ground house’ in response to the crowding of medium-rise buildings built in a wave of land development. the ground house responds to such elements of the site as wind direction, sun angle, and location of trees. the structure was fundamentally conceived as a collection of stacked slabs which are locally manipulated  based on these environmental conditions. these slabs are suspended by a structural system of branching columns.

the designers of the ground house prioritize the expandable versatility of the project. the structural system in place allows for a transformable, open plan. methods of subtraction are implemented to optimize passive ventilation and sunlight penetration to the interior. these cutting operations further introduce unusual perspectives with sweeping, overlapping curvatures. the studio elaborates: ‘the matrix of micro-topography has domestic origin in the local context and the other hand, it includes versatility in common context. the micro-topography becomes architecture only after having specific form for the place.’

project info:

project title: ground house

architecture firm:tomohiro hata architects and associates

location: ikeda, osaka prefecture, japan

project year: 2018