SNARK + OUVI top wooden house in saishikada, japan, with pitched roof

architecture studios SNARK and OUVI have built ‘house in saishikada’, a wooden dwelling topped with a pitched roof in a suburban area of midori city, gunma prefecture, japan. located in the middle of a high hill, on a flat site three meters above the front road, the rectangular residence overlooks the surrounding rural scenery. inside, the house is split between two floors, while its layout arrangement forms a stacked relationship among its different functions.

all images by ippei shinzawa

SNARK and OUVI have placed the rectangular house on the north side of the site, with a focus on maintaining the natural garden and providing views towards the surrounding rural scenery. in order to achieve the latter and ensure enough privacy from the main road at the front, the stand-alone residence is supported by foundations at three different heights. these follow the slope of the natural ground, varying from one meter to three meters in depth.

the residence comprises two levels, with the ground level enclosing the kitchen, living-dining room, and bedroom, all of which are connected to the garden through several openings. this floor also includes the atelier, which appears to be floating from the side and incorporates a large window with great views of the surroundings. small ‘bumps’ extend outwards along the long side of the rectangular plan, which are used as storage for the kitchen, bathroom, entrance porch, and other equipment. furthermore, by designing the side walls to have an angle of 45 degrees, they become load-bearing walls, acting in both directions to protect the structure from earthquake shaking. some load-bearing walls are placed between rooms, but there are no structural walls inside.

the architects have placed a dark-skinny space on the second floor, created by two beams with a gap and four offset columns that support the 19m long-span of the gable roof. this space encloses the DJ booth and the children’s room. while the first floor is designed to feel near to the natural environment, the second floor is more like an observation deck, which provides views towards the surrounding rural scenery. topped with the large pitched roof, the interior offers residents a rich experience through its stacked spaces as they go about their daily lives.