© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

This is a weekend house for a family of three, a coupe with a small child. This site is within a grassy plain between the ocean of Bousou and mountains, and it is surrounded by a landscape with bathing beach and sport land facilities. We proposed to design a house accommodating both scenery of the ocean and of the mountain without separating the open environment into the ocean side and the mountain side.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

We considered it was not appropriate just to bury the building into the ground and hide it in the landscape, as the building becomes of a separate nature from the ground. Thus the grass plane was cut into and lifted up to produce an in-between space for the house. As a result, the exterior appears to be ‘gradual’ and ‘loose’. The experience of lying down on this building becomes equivalent to lying down on the grass ground. The interior space provides exquisite views of the ocean and the mountains framed between the wild flowers growing from the roof and the ground.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

For the roof slab, we have used anti-corrosive concrete and by making the horizontal forces of the roof conduct into the ground, provided the space with fewer columns. The building frame receives the external heat insulation, while the grass soil is utilised for its protective layer and the finish to reduce the cost of the exterior sheathing.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

The roof material is selected to reflect the colour of the soil particular to this site and the seasonal changes in vegetation ? the building profile will be transformed as the owner plant and clip the plants. Here it was not necessary to seek for the excessive design signature or the severity of the white abstract space. An architect’s job to decide the discretion of the building form or the texture can now be handed over to the nature and to the dwellers. Such “looseness” we thought would be suitable for the idea of the weekend house.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.

© Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP . Published on February 28, 2011.