ienowa house in japan by +S / shintaro matsushita + takashi suzuki

a house that encapsulates the feeling of being outside is what the client asked architects shintaro matsushita + takashi suzuki of +S to achieve in this project located in iwaki city in the fukushima prefecture. ‘ienowa’ sits on a spacious residential site with a backdrop of the mountains. the family property is organized across two floors, with all the main programs: bedroom, living, kitchen, bathroom and dining are located on the ground level. meanwhile the second level only accommodates a playroom for the family’s children.

all images © hiroyuki hirai

+S / shintaro matsushita + takashi suzuki’s design achieved the indoor-outdoor feeling by controlling the ‘degree of outsideness’ by the varied thicknesses and materials of the outer walls. hanging walls, timber frames with glazing have been used to divide or connect the internal programs in according to their location on the floor plan. the combination of elements and materials used and erected at different heights encourages a sense of transparency in contrast to just building up solid walls.

the same approach has been used for the roof construction. the distinctive folded roof panel canopy covers the first level and its zig-zagged form is visible inside. additionally, the other roof elements including the steel sheet and framed pergola co-exist to strengthen the relationship between the inside and outside.

‘we successfully completed a house where one can feel like being outside in many different ways everywhere in the house.’ comments the architects. ‘one can feel nature, seasons, light, wind, city, and the world from here. in this project, maybe it would be more appropriate to say that we “controlled a sense of distance from each place to the outside”, rather than simply building architecture.. we hope this openness will prevail throughout the surrounding area and gradually enhance the city.’

the client, whose hobbies include mountain climbing and camping, requested a ‘house that feels like the outside’