Dezeen · Creativity & design

Keiji Ashizawa Designs Yatsugatake House with Charred Cedar Exterior

Japanese studio Keiji Ashizawa Design has created a holiday home on the Yatsugatake mountain plateau, characterized by an angled, folded form clad in charred cedar. The design prioritizes privacy while embracing the surrounding natural landscape.

The 225-square-metre home is designed for a family and is situated in a residential area of holiday homes. Its unusual shape and window placement are intended to offer views of nature while preventing direct sightlines to neighboring properties.

The exterior is clad in yakisugi, a traditional Japanese charred cedar, permitted due to the area's less dense population and less strict fire regulations compared to central Tokyo.

The single-story building features a gentle bend that angles inward, enclosing its garden. This folded form responds to the surrounding views, natural light, and the house's scale within the landscape.

The house's design also considers the regional climate, including winter snowfall. It rests on a concrete foundation that is more exposed on the sloping site, and its relatively high profile is common in timber houses in colder regions.

Internally, oak wood is used, with exposed sloping beams and high windows framing the garden. A mezzanine loft above the living area is illuminated by a skylight.

The layout includes a central entrance, with living, dining, and kitchen areas, a loft, and a guest room in the western wing, and private rooms and bathrooms in the east. The bathroom offers panoramic forest views through full-width timber-framed windows.

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