Project: Hazamacho House
Architects: Tatsuya Kawamoto + Associates
Location: Japan
Area: 2,077 sf
Year: 2022
Photographs by: Takashi Uemura
Hazamacho House by Tatsuya Kawamoto + Associates
This one-story house for farmers in a rural area is designed as a frame for local farmers, aiming to curb disorderly urbanization. With a building rate requirement of over 40%, a large roof structure was employed, jumping in various directions to create an expansive and cost-effective space. The central load-bearing walls serve as divisions for crops and tool storage, while the outer periphery remains flexible. The design connects with surrounding mountains through a ridgeline shape, with adjustable eaves for solar radiation control. The structure, initially a residence, is intended to transform into agricultural sheds, promoting sustainable land use and preserving valuable farmland.
In the urbanization control area, rather than prohibiting the construction of buildings, we believe that building for local farmers can curb disorderly urbanization. This is a one-story house for farmers in rural areas. The aim was not to be a residence but to become a frame for farmers in this area by building it on this site surrounded by agricultural land.
Should be a building rate of more than 40% – The site is an area rich in nature with mountains and a river flowing in front of it, and there are almost no buildings built around it, and each site is a large rural area. According to city regulations, in addition to the building rate (less than 60%), a building rate of “more than 40%” was required to be secured. However, the client does not want such a very large building. In order to secure more than 40% of the construction area within a limited budget, we thought of a way to suppress urbanization by creating large buildings while keeping costs down.
Frame for agricultural work and living space – In order to achieve these within budget, we built a large roof that jumps in all directions. Structurally necessary walls are compactly organized in the center of the building, and the outer periphery is as free as possible. And it was easy to access from the surrounding fields. The load-bearing walls arranged in folds in the center function as a division of crops and tool storage, and the living space behaves in a variety of ways, such as a space for reading a book and a storage room. Eventually, all of these houses will become agricultural sheds.
Connecting mountain ridges with diagonal rods – Aiming for a ridgeline shape that connects the surrounding mountains, the eaves are high on the east side where the mountains rich in nature are located, and the eaves are lowered on the south side to suppress solar radiation in summer, forming a gentle hyperbolic parabola using only straight wood beam. The eaves are cantilevered because they bounce out in four directions, but by supporting the tip with an iron diagonal rod, it was possible to create a gentle ridge line shape with reduced eaves thickness.
Curbing disorderly urbanization – By internalizing the necessary parts of this 300㎡ structure, we thought of creating a large frame for agricultural work and living space necessary for living together. The space on the site is used as agricultural land for growing crops, and the depth of the eaves creates continuity with the living space. the space under the eaves also functions as a drying place for harvested crops that can be accessed from other fields of surrounding farmers. In the future, only the structure will remain, and it will be a workspace for the surrounding farmers. We hope that, over time, it will take root in the region and that this structure will suppress urbanization and protect valuable farmland.
