The winters in Asahikawa, Japan are intense - snowfall often reaches up to eight meters, creating extreme conditions which require specific types of architecture. Japanese studio Archi LAB raised the CYIN house up on stilts, creating a snow-free perimeter around the smaller ground floor and sheltering the entrance with a huge canopy.
The owners commissioned Archi LAB to design a house on the same plot with their parents’ house in a residential neighborhood of Asahikawa. By placing the house near a road at the south end of the plot, the architects created a large shared garden between the two buildings.
The upper storey is raised on V-shaped pilotti and acts as a large canopy that shelters the entrance and the timber-clad base. This way the structure minimizes snow accumulation and forms a small winter garden on the ground level which houses a hobby room and entrance hall. The two bedrooms, open-plan living space and a sheltered balcony occupy the upper floor. Inside, wooden partitions form rooms and storage areas, the latter of which double as stairs to two mezzanines located over the bedrooms. Large windows provide views of the surroundings and enable natural ventilation.
Via Dezeen
Photos by Kei Furuse
