Wood and light: on Japan's northernmost island, this family house is a study in modesty.Though at first glance, from the snow-filled environs and timber cladding, this little house looks as if it is in a suburb of Oslo or Helsinki, it is actually in Japan; in Sapporo on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, where the dry, cold winters with over 6m of snow, easily rival the extremes of Scandinavia. Compacted into a tight sloping site, hemmed in by unremarkable houses and further constrained by a limited budget, architect Shinichiro Akasaka deftly transcends these limitations to create a memorable piece of domestic architecture. Based in Sapporo, he clearly understands the local context and climate, allied to a poetic austerity. Rather than dig into Verb 1. dig into - examine physically with or as if with a probe; "probe an anthill" poke into, probe penetrate, perforate - pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The bullet penetrated her chest" the site, the foundations step down the slope, thus reducing the amount of concrete used. A large, fluid volume contains the living, dining and kitchen positioned at the south-facing top of the slope, with bands of storage, bathrooms and a spinal corridor stepping down gradually across different levels. Spatial permeability is key; there are virtually no internal doors, and instead changes in level demarcate de·mar·cate tr.v. de·mar·cat·ed, de·mar·cat·ing, de·mar·cates 1. To set the boundaries of; delimit. 2. To separate clearly as if by boundaries; distinguish: demarcate categories. different functions, encouraging a sense of informality and setting up through views. A staircase with an open landing overlooking the living room leads to the upper floor. Walls and ceilings are entirely lined in a skin of birch plywood, creating the impression of being cocooned in a warm, blond womb. And though the kinked external walls were a response to site conditions and budget, such expediency ex·pe·di·en·cy n. pl. ex·pe·di·en·cies 1. Appropriateness to the purpose at hand; fitness. 2. Adherence to self-serving means: is dignified and elevated by likening lik·en tr.v. lik·ened, lik·en·ing, lik·ens To see, mention, or show as similar; compare. [Middle English liknen, from like, similar; see like2 them to traditional Japanese byoubu screens. Covered in gold leaf, these ornate internal freestanding screens were used to reflect and conduct light and so it is with the angled planes of pale plywood. Precisely square windows punched apparently at random into the walls admit daylight and animate the ascetic exterior. The cranked roof profile reprises REPRISES. The deductions and payments out of lands, annuities, and the like, are called reprises, because they are taken back; when we speak of the clear yearly value of an estate, we say it is worth so much a year ultra reprises, besides all reprises. 2. the byoubu effect, but it is also a response to the direction and intensity of snowfall. Thoughtful in both design and execution, the house is a gently provocative reinterpretation re·in·ter·pret tr.v. re·in·ter·pret·ed, re·in·ter·pret·ing, re·in·ter·prets To interpret again or anew. re of suburban domesticity Domesticity See also Wifeliness. Crocker, Betty leading brand of baking products; byword for one expert in homemaking skills. [Trademarks: Crowley Trade, 56] Dick Van Dyke Show, The . C. S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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