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July 12, 2009

Stealth House — Privacy in plain sight

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Designed by architect Makoto Tanijiri of Suppose Design Office for a family in Saijo, Japan.

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Wrote Marcia Argyriades in a July 4, 2009 Yatzer story, "when first seen it seems as if it's a house from the future.... it's actually inspired by the earliest house in Japanese architecture: the pit dwelling or 'tateana jukyo.'

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Constructed during the Yayoi era (200 B.C. – 250 A.D.), pit dwellings were built by digging a circular pit (or a rectangular one with rounded edges) fifty or sixty centimeters deep and five to seven meters in diameter, then covering it with a steep thatched roof.

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According to Tanijiri, the clients, a young couple and their three children, wanted a unique house, in which the open public part would preserve privacy.

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The site, which was formerly an open field, was excavated and the house was sunk a meter into the ground.

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The soil from the excavations was used to create a protective barrier around the perimeter of the site, and acted as the organic base of the house.

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The barrier formed is both visual and physical and was planted to create a lush landscape.

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The sunken level of the house is communal; the perimeter is constructed of exposed glossy concrete.

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Four inclined black steel V plates were placed at each corner of the ground floor to support the construction and the other two levels of the pit dwelling. The sunken level is open plan and consists of the living, kitchen and dining areas. Although it is a meter below ground level, it has a lot of natural light as Tanijiri placed ribbon windows on all four sides.

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A timber staircase without handrails leads to the first floor where the master bedroom and bath are found; however, it also neatly conceals a washroom located on the ground floor. The master bedroom enjoys a terrace which is cut into the surface of the pyramid-like construction, thus allowing natural light [to enter]. 

[via Milena]

July 12, 2009 at 11:01 AM | Permalink


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Comments

great house !

Posted by: dan | Aug 4, 2009 3:10:03 AM

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