The project site is a large site that includes a plateau on a large rock plateau in a meandering valley where the river is interrupted by a large bedrock. When I visited the site for the first time, I passed through a thickly wooded area at the entrance, and suddenly the trees disappeared and an open grassy area appeared.
Rethinking The Future Awards 2025
First Award | Private Residence (Small-Medium) (Built)
Project Name: HOUSE IN TOYOOKA
Category: Private Residence (Small-Medium) (Built)
Studio Name: Ishii Hideki Architect Atelier
Design Team: Hideki Ishii
Area: 299.9㎡
Year: 2023
Location: Chiba, Japan
Consultants:
Photography Credits: Koichi Torimura
Render Credits: –
Other Credits : –
It was a plateau on the bedrock, tracing the flow of the river, and surrounded by mountains that warped 180 degrees around the valley, like a serene stage cut off from its surroundings. The special atmosphere of this land and the sense of awe toward nature were my first impressions when I visited this place.
We wanted to create an architecture that would not only fully appreciate the valley view without compromising it, but also fully enjoy it. The building is located on the edge of a flat plateau, and the roof is covered with bamboo as a sunshade to blend in as part of the landscape.
When you visit the site, you first feel that you are in the midst of an overwhelming natural landscape, then you are led down by a retaining wall, and then you go through the approach between the building and the retaining wall that arcs along the edge of the plateau, and access the building from the place where you can see straight to the north side of the canyon running north to south. There, the view of the canyon can be felt for the first time.
In many cases, villas are built for their beautiful natural scenery, and in such cases, it is tempting to build a building in a prime location, but by building there, you may be spoiling the scenery yourself. Architecture in a great landscape should be part of the landscape itself.
In addition, the sheer grandeur of nature may prevent us from perceiving the landscape as scenery, but the presence of architecture can act as an intermediary between nature and people, bringing nature to our physical senses and transforming a magnificent landscape into a beautiful scene. By building this architecture that assimilates with the landscape, we believe we were able to create a new landscape and maximize the attractiveness of this site.
