Hat on the Ridge Residence and Gallery

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Earthen floor connects with the bedrock, and square roof opens to the landscape - The space was vertically diversified by adding the floor on the ground and levitating the roof over the earth. The roof lowers down towards the roof edge and heightens up in the center. Each of the four edges of the roof opens to a different view: the mountain, the valley, the village, and the sky. Responding to these rich surroundings, each edge is flipped up to make four different spaces with different views.

Dimensions & Packaging

2story wooden building
Width 6825mm x Depth 6825mm x Height 6970mm

Tags

Villa, Gallery, Pit dwelling, Dorma, Cats, Vista, Mountain, Village, Sky, valley

Production Technology

Earthen floor connects with the bedrock, and square roof opens to the landscape. Each of the four edges of the roof opens to a different view: the mountain, the valley, the village, and the sky. Responding to these rich surroundings, each edge is flipped up to make four different spaces with different views.

Design Challenge

The site is covered in a soft sediment over the surface of bedrock. The site was above the road level by just the thickness of the soil, which we chose to remove by the shape of the building footprint to put the foundation directly on the bedrock. The approach from the road is dug into this soil as well, gently sloping up towards the house. By placing a structurally stable pyramid roof over the simple square-shaped plan of the house, we created a pillarless space under the single roof.

Project Duration

The construction started in in September 2018 and finished in May 2019 in Kamakura, Japan.

Operation Flow

Cut through the floor in the corners - In the corners where the roof edges were left unflipped, the upper level floor is cut through to the ground to connect the two levels.
Flip up the roof edges - Each of the four edges of the roof opens to a different view: the mountain, the valley, the village, and the sky. Responding to these rich surroundings, each edge is flipped up to make four different spaces with different views.

Research

From a gallery-like space to a house with a gallery.
When the construction was first completed, the ground floor entrance hall and upper floor bookshelves were gallery-like spaces for displaying antiques and other items that were the owner's hobby.
By displaying them within the scale of the living space, the works of art feel more familiar, and visitors can easily imagine the scene in which they will be placed in their residences.

Inspiration

The origin of the idea is a pit dwelling that blends in with the mountain range. Removing soft sediments over the surface by the shape of the building footprint to put the foundation directly on the bedrock, a semi-subterranean-like space buried in the earth is created. The space was then vertically diversified by adding another floor above the ground and levitating the roof over the earth.

Image Credits

Photographer TOREAL Koji Fujii

Colors of Hat on the Ridge Residence and Gallery