house in japan extends around a single column like an open umbrella

One-Legged House in japan by IGArchitects

Tokyo-based design practice IGArchitects has built a house that appears to defy gravity, as it stands on a single focal column, hence its name, ‘One Legged House’. Located on a hill 300m from the shore of Okinawa, Japan, the architecture unfolds around the individual construction component, emerging like an open umbrella that houses all the living spaces underneath.

For this project, the team sought to play with transparency and opacity through an openable facade that adjusts to the users’ needs. Thus, a sliding mechanism envelops the body, allowing the glazed surfaces to fold and unfold, adding a continuous flow that blurs the limits of the built enviroment and the natural landscape. The generous amounts of openings are aligned with a series of sliding solid shutter panels that can control the unwanted direct sunlight rays during summer.

all images by IGArchitects

The house with the one column

The brief was for a house that creates a visual connection with the outside environment, provides comfortable and flexible interior spaces, adapts to the climate of the region, and keeps the building costs down. A concrete mass tops the space and becomes ‘the canopy of the umbrella’. Thanks to its breathable construction, the house can meet the needs of privacy yet enjoy a clear view of the ocean. By opening the floor-to-ceiling windows, it can serve as natural ventilation as pleasant ocean breezes flow through the place all day long, while the use of air conditioning becomes unnecessary.

The use of only one column limits the foundation and structural cost to the minimum. The glass surfaces that wrap around the house take the place of walls, transforming the solid structure into a floating silhouette. This juxtaposition in material qualities adds a distinct character to the building.

The interior sees a flexible open layout that unwraps around the column. Despite its central position, it becomes part of the design and adds depth to the room, ‘giving the feeling of ‘further space”. The architects opted to use limited materials of concrete and wood, while by scaling the ceiling and wall height, a flexible space was created that can accept changes.