Naked House

From Archiplanet

	Naked House
Designer	Shigeru Ban
Location	Kawagoe, Japan
Date	2003
Building Type	Residence
Construction System	Light wood framing, double-thick walls
Climate	Moderate
Context	Rural
Architectural Style	High Tech Modern
Street Address
Notes

1 Images
2 Discussion
3 External Links

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[edit] Discussion

This small house in Kawagoe, Japan was designed for a family of five, including two children and the owner's elderly mother. At the owner's request, the house is as open as possible to foster an atmosphere of closeness among family members. The only permanent partitions enclose the bathroom suite, which can be further subdivided with sliding doors and nylon curtains. Movable nylon curtains define laundry and dressing areas adjacent to the bathroom and a small kitchen along the north wall. Four large wood boxes on casters serve as bedrooms. Open on two sides, these boxes can be moved throughout the main interior open space and even outside through the western wall. The structural system of this house consists of double-stud, 12-inch- (30-centimeter-) thick walls supporting low-arc roof trusses. Walls are finished on the exterior with clear corrugated plastic and inside with stretched white nylon fabric. Insulation is polyethelene foam stuffed into clear plastic bags, allowing diffuse light to permeate the interior.