Text description provided by the architects. This is a renovation project of a 40-year-old detached house. The house used to be the client's parents' house, which was taken over by the client's family several years ago. Before being taken over, the house had been rented for a period of time, and the interior had been updated through several remodeling projects, so it no longer looked as if 40 years had passed.
However, the Japanese-style room was used as a living room, and it seemed to be the center of the house. We left the Japanese-style room and began demolition. The exposed frame was painted white, the partitions were made of glass, and the floor was made of hard, inorganic earthen flooring.
In contrast to this, the Japanese-style room, with its plastered walls, pillars, and soft tatami mats, gives a sense of coziness. Although this room is not a typical living room, it is a place where one can place a kotatsu (table over a kotatsu) or lie down, just like an old-fashioned living room, and where we hoped the family would gather.
