Submit your project for Archello Awards 2025 now! Deadline 30 September 2025
Submit your project for Archello Awards 2025 now!
Deadline 30 September 2025

Detached building in Ko-ryo Town, Nara Prefecture

Detached building in Ko-ryo Town, Nara Prefecture
Junichi Usui

Detached building in Ko-ryo Town, Nara Prefecture

The site is located in Kitakatsuragi District, Nara Prefecture, in the most populous town in Nara Prefecture. The plan involves a single-story reinforced concrete annex in a residential area.

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui

Separate from the existing main house, this building serves as a place to entertain guests and facilitate communication. It does not include a bathroom, only minimal water facilities, and minimizes functions that draw from external information and spaces of the residential area. The goal was to create a space where the beauty of light and materials can be experienced.

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui

The structure is designed with wall construction to eliminate beams and columns from the space. A large skylight is placed in the center to allow the light to change throughout the day. The black Taniguchi paper used for the finish gently envelops the light, conveying the various changes in the sky through the seasons and weather.

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui

On the side of the tsuboniwa (small garden), slit openings are planned to introduce natural light reflected off the walls from the floor level.

In recent years, as most communication has shifted to social media and the internet, there is a need for spaces that are the opposite of screen-focused daily life. We created a space that allows for rich communication, different from everyday life, while ensuring privacy in a densely populated residential area.

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui

 

 

 

 

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui

 

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui

Purpose: Residence
Site: Ko-ryo Town, Kitakatsuragi District, Nara Prefecture
Completion: Decr 2023
Construction: Takagishi Construction Co., Ltd.
Interior Substructure Construction and Waterproofing Works: Rakusei Giken Co., Ltd.
Lighting Design: ModuleX
Japanese Paper: Wataru Hatano
Furniture: Akitomo Furniture Manufacturing Studio
Structural Design: Takeshi Kaneko Structural Design Office
Cooperation: Akihiro Tai
Photo: Junichi Usui

photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui
photo_credit Junichi Usui
Junichi Usui