norihisa kawashima reimagines the saw-tooth roof with this sun drenched house in japan

this house for a young couple with three children is located in ichinomiya, japan — an area historically famous for its fabric textile industry. the city has a unique streetscape dotted with factories, many of which bear a saw-tooth roof. in the design of this residence, architect norihisa kawashima proposes a south-oriented roof, resulting in internal lighting that is strongly impacted by environmental changes throughout the day. sunlight is reflected, diffused and amplified by the white surfaces of the roof, ceilings, walls and floors.

image by SHINKENCHIKU | all other images by jumpei suzuki

norihisa kawashima conceived ‘saw-tooth roof’ in ichinomiya with an emphasis on nature and sunlight. ‘while enjoying the changes of the nature within the house, it is also important for the residences to live subjectively and in a comfortable environment protected by rain, wind, and varying temperatures,’ the architect describes. ‘it is desirable to design a space where residents can be as close to the nature as if they are in it, and other times they can face to the nature with relief by a little distance.’

the project sources architectural typologies from the existing landscape and experiments with the construction of common structural forms from an environmental engineering perspective. the scheme envisions the possibilities of bringing back the traditional saw-tooth roof cityscape, not only through the preservation of older factories, but in the design of new projects as well.

project info:

location: aichi, japan
use: residence
site area: 246.27 m2
building area: 119.24 m2
total floor area: 98.73 m2
bldg. coverage ratio: 48.42%
gross floor ratio: 40.45%
structure: wood
exterior finish: corrugated galvalume steel plate
interior finish: basswood plywood (wall, floor), corrugated galvalume steel plate (ceiling)
design period: 2016.09-2017.02
construction period: 2017.02-2017.07
project architect: norihisa kawashima
collaborator: kozo takase (environmental engineer) , yoshiyuki hiraiwa (structural engineer) ,
client: confidential
construction: matsubara kenchiku shoji