Shigeru Ban Architects

I HOUSE/ I ハウス

Tokyo, Japan
1991

Photo: Hiroyuki Hirai

新興住宅街にある敷地において、将来周囲に住宅が建て込んでも居間からの視界がある程度保たれるよう、正方形の平面を敷地に対し４５度振って配置している。構法的には、1つのものに2つの意味を持たせ、材料と手間を省くよう工夫している。２枚の自立する外壁にのせた折板は屋根材と引張材の機能を持ち、2枚の壁自体の筋交いとして働く構造用合板は室内側ではOSBを使い、それをそのまま仕上げ材とすることで、ここでも1つのものに2つの機能を持たせている。

This square building is placed at a 45-degree angle to the property line to ensure a good view to the south. To make the second floor living room fully open to the landscape on the north and south sides and to private proper ventilation, two wooden walls are set parallel to each other on the east and west sides. In order to make these two walls stand by themselves and resist the lateral stresses without the need for bracing or supporting walls they, along with the steel folded plate roof structure, are tensioned by steel rods anchored to the ground outside. In this project, the folded plate roof is given a tensile function. The interior's structural plywood is used as a finishing material as well as bracing, providing that a single material can bear two functions at once to help promote low-cost construction.