House I in Arishima

“In a world inundated with distractions”, we had written in 2017, “the house becomes a simple filter: Shut out the clutter and open up focused views on the serene beauty that lies behind: untouched wilderness all the way up to Mt Yotei”. The clients described how they kept spending their time there around the kitchen counter, dining whilst cooking together, enthralled by the framed views of the outside. An involuntary confinement opened up renewed appreciation of the surrounding beauty. Going back again and again, they fell in love with the idea of a place of their own.

Nuances

Located a few kilometres away, in a yet barely developed area just outside Niseko town, the site they found is similar but not as straightforward. Instead of the clear “great” versus “clutter” views, it has a much more nuanced mix of closed and open, near and far. Towards the east, Mt Yotei is the obvious target. As we look towards Yotei, right at our feet, a small brook, the remnant of a former irrigation canal, is the demarcation between our and the neighbouring land sloping upwards behind the water. Although Mt Yotei is in front of us, the deciduous trees on the slightly higher ground on the other side of the brook mean that Yotei is in a game of seasonal hide and seek. And so are, albeit not as prominent, Mt Annupuri to the north and Mt Konbu to the south.

Reflect and Focus

While it is clear that the complexity of the site is best appreciated from a range of different heights, the need to focus brings the solution. As the world wades through unchartered territory, supply chains dry up, construction costs soar. One of the pandemic’s few good consequences: people begin to reflect.
After weeks of studies how the outside should fill the interior trajectory, clients and architect reach the conclusion that all we really need is a large place to cook and eat — embedded in the surroundings.
We propose a viewing platform on top of everything else. This “everything else” consists of the functions that can, perhaps should be divided: storing, washing, sleeping. Placed on the ground level, bath and bedroom capture the sounds and views immediately around us.

Walking into the Outside

Climbing up the stairs feels like walking into the outside. Penetrated solely by the core of the staircase and an island for cooking and dining, both stopping at hip height, the upper level is an unexpectedly large volume. The white lime plaster of walls and roof seem to absorb the ever-changing colours of the surroundings. Light is pouring in from the sides. As though they were paintings hung on the walls, five square openings of different sizes turn our viewing platform into a gallery of the outside.