suppose design office: house in tosuien

‘house in tosuien’ by suppose design office, hiroshima, japan
image © toshiyuki yano
all images courtesy of suppose design office

in the quiet residential area of tosuien, in hiroshima, japanese practice suppose design office has recently completed a house for a family with
three children. the particular residence offers its originality at first glance: the metal frame structure and overhanging concrete floor planes are
completely covered in translucent panels like one large light box. an avid collector of motorcycles, the ground floor features ample room for
their storage, with space for a vehicle on the exterior as the house is set back four meters from the road side. the next level contains the social
program – dining and living rooms and kitchen – located partially within a concrete core that hides all the mechanical and plumbing systems,
with the final storey left for all the bedrooms. the small corrugations of the plastic panes give a feeling of transparency but maintain a certain
level of privacy, as the only real clear image exists within about a meter from the skin and is still a bit distorted. the interior is constantly illuminated
by natural diffuse light, with operable windows to provide ventilation. from the inside, the walls become blotched mosaics of the surrounding
neighborhood, hinting at the general colors without exposing too much detail.

front elevation and entry
image © toshiyuki yano

kitchen
image © toshiyuki yano

living room
image © toshiyuki yano

dining and living room
image © toshiyuki yano

translucent panels offer distorted hints of the exterior
image © toshiyuki yano

inset metal frame and concrete floor planes make up the primary structure
image © toshiyuki yano

bedroom
image © toshiyuki yano

glowing house at night
image © toshiyuki yano

image © toshiyuki yano

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

section

project info:

location: hiroshima city,japan
principal use: personal house
site area: 135.09sqm
building area: 69.36sqm
total floor area: 208.08 m2; (1f:69.36sqm  2f:69.36sqm  3f:69.36sqm)
completion: november 2011
design period: august.
construction period: june 2011-november 2011
structure:  steel structure
client: a couple and three children
project architect:  makoto tanijiri [suppose design office]
project team: makoto tanijiri [suppose design office] + a.s.associates. in-charge: hajime nagano