A levitating house that draws on Japanese tradition
- Photography: Fuminori Nousaku
- Text: Pedro Ferrer
The Akeno Raised Floor house banishes concrete to return to the traditional essence. Built on the outskirts of Hokuto, a city in Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture, Fuminori Nousaku Architects has carried out a modern reinterpretation of ancient techniques in this environmentally friendly house.
Tradition and innovation
The owners had inherited this plot overlooking Mount Fuji on the south side and wanted a home connected to nature that would also allow them to telecommute. The area is rich in waterways and landscapes reminiscent of the peasant past, such as terraced rice fields and masonry buildings.
Japanese sustainable architecture
With these sources of inspiration, the study proposed some very clear lines of action. First, concrete was discarded as a construction material, using as an alternative a foundation based on recyclable iron piles. This decision had two advantages: it minimally affected the soil of the plot and, by placing the floor one meter above it, the extra elevation allowed a view of Mount Fuji from inside the house.
In terms of orientation, a long, narrow building was chosen that follows the east-west line, with a huge open terrace on the south side of the façade. The structure is crowned by a one-sided roof with a gentle south-facing slope to make the most of the sunlight.
In keeping with the leitmotif of sustainability, wood fiber was used as an insulating material for both the floor and the roof, while the walls were insulated from heat using the “straw bale” construction method, which is stacked and then sealed with mud until a completely smooth surface is obtained.
The formal simplicity of the Akeno house is prolonged in its furnishings, where functionality and the intensive use of wood prevail, even in the bathroom. An omnipresent material (the beams of the roof, the decking of the terrace, the charred slats that protect and cover the facade), combined with large sliding glass doors to let the sun shine in and illuminate this levitating home.
