敷地は大分市中心部、近くに都市公園があり、新旧の世代が入り交じる穏やかな地域コミュニティが感じられる場所で、建主の夫婦は幼い子供2人と暮らす現在の家を、昔から馴染みのあるこの地で建て替えることにした。昔ながらの生活スタイルを好む夫婦は、自然環境を享受し、子供たちが成長する中で発見や気づきがある家を求めていた。

 

以前建っていた家は、かつて近くの川の氾濫による浸水被害が多発していたため、擁壁が設けられ、全面道路や周囲の地盤面よりも高い位置に建てられていた。それらの既存物（擁壁や木塀）を残すことで、コストを抑えながら、土地の履歴を出来るだけ引き継ぐことにした。

 

空間構成は、将来1階だけで生活したいとの要望から、必然的に多くなる1階の部屋数と面積的な制限を考慮し、廊下を介さず真ん中のホールから直接各個室にアクセスできる田の字形式とした。中心には南北に伸びる気持ちの良い吹き抜けを配しトップライトやハイサイドを設け、光と風を内部に取り入れる。その大空間に寄り添うように各階に大小様々な個室を散りばめた。

また、食生活にこだわりのある施主にとって、キッチンは特別な場所だった。そこは趣味部屋でもあり、創作を通した子供の教育の場でもあり、将来、家族だけでなく友人知人とのコミュニケーションの場としても機能することをぼんやりとイメージしていた。そこで、キッチンは一つの居場所として捉え直し、つまり個室として扱うことに決め、玄関を通らず外部と直接つなげ、引き違いの掃き出し窓を設けた。それらの操作はキッチンの自律性を高め、外土間と一体となって、少しだけ住宅の枠から外れた使われ方を導くだろう。

 

それぞれの個室には、周囲の余白に呼応させるように窓を適宜設け、どの場所からも視線が外へと抜けていく。

移りゆく季節の中で、通り抜ける風や降り注ぐ光の変化を感じながら、子供たちがのびのびと育って欲しい。そんな家になればと願っている。

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The site stands amid a friendly neighborhood with a city park where the old and the new generation come together. The owner couple had decided to rebuild their current home for themselves and their little children on this site to which they have become familiar over many years. In favor of the traditional lifestyle, the couple was in search of a home that brings new findings as their children grow, while also appreciating the natural environment.

The previous home was built on a location higher than the road and surrounding ground surface and had a retaining wall to protect the house from frequent flood damage caused by an overflow of a nearby river. Retaining the existing structures (retaining wall and wood fence) helped reduce the reconstruction cost; we decided to pass the history of the site onto the new home.

For spatial composition, the owner requested that they want to live only on the first floor in the future. Taking into consideration the inevitable increase in the number of rooms on the first floor and spatial limitations, we have adopted a floor layout with the shape of the Chinese character “田” to allow direct access to individual rooms from the central hall without having to go through the corridor. Right at the center, we installed a top light and high side along with a stairwell stretching from the south to the north, letting pleasant light and breeze into the house. We scattered the individual rooms of different sizes on each floor as if they encircle the large hall.

The kitchen held special significance for the owner who was passionate about eating lifestyle. The kitchen had multiple faces—a hobby room, a place for their children’s education through creation and even to be a communication hub for the family and friends in the future. We had redefined the kitchen as an independent room in the house; we connected the kitchen with the outside without going through the entrance and installed a sliding patio door. This improves the autonomy of the kitchen, and together with the porch, this shall allow the family to explore the kitchen’s undiscovered faces.

Each room comes with windows arranged in harmony with the surrounding white to shift the focus to the outside. In the midst of transitioning seasons, we hope that the owner couple’s children will grow up free from cares in this house, spending quality time feeling the breeze passing through and the changing torrent of light.

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