1-1 architects designs a family home for a tropical plant farmer in japan

amid the lush green countryside of aichi prefecture in japan is a dwelling realized by 1-1 architects for the owner of a tropical plant farm. composed of three volumes under three roofs, the layout of ‘house OS’ has been designed according to a boundary line of neighboring land that the single-story residence straddles.

images courtesy of 1-1 architects

in the countryside of japan, legal farmland and residential land are located adjacent to each other and mixed. the owner of house OS purchased a site consisting of three types of land: ‘residential land’, ‘farmland (with a road)’ and ‘farmland (without a road)’. at first glance, these lands seem to be one, but there is a strong invisible borderline between them as stipulated by law. by focusing on this boundary line, 1-1 architects built three separate buildings (the house, a greenhouse, and an agricultural warehouse). each building complies with the laws pertaining to each of the three different types of land and is separated by the narrowest of gaps.

the largest volume belongs to the main house. here, the floor plan is divided between a generous entrance, a kitchen, a large living and dining space, three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a pantry. to the south of the main house is the agricultural warehouse, which is populated by lush plant life. to the north of the main house is the greenhouse, where the owner grows and tends to their tropical plants. connected by large openings from bedroom 3 and the living and dining space, inhabitants sit here and enjoy the sense of being outside while being sheltered under the greenhouse roof.

project info:

name: house OS

type: residential

location: aichi, japan

architect: 1-1 architects (yuki kamiya + shoichi ishikawa)

structure: komatsu structural design

construction: hirata building co., ltd.

landscape: takumi sugiyama

structure: timber

site area: 3,820.43 ft2 (354.93 m2)

built area: 1,795.31 ft2 (166.79 m2)

total floor area: 1,795.31 ft2 (166.79 m2)

design period: may 2017 – october 2018

construction period: november 2018 – june 2020

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom