[The scenery created by four buildings and four yards]

A tranquil residential area situated near the city center of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
As a shrine visited by many is situated on the left side of the grounds, and the mountain range in the background is also beautiful, there was a need to consider the intersecting of various perspectives while keeping open the building in this bearing, as well as the strong rays of the sun from the west. Together with the wishes of the client to live openly while gazing at greenery, we planned the diverse connections of the surrounding environment and architecture.

Judging from the size of the plot, we could also create a large yard on the west side, but as there would be an imbalance in the connection with the various rooms and the yards, we first divided the building into four smaller buildings while considering conditions such as the lighting, ventilation, and surrounding buildings. We have positioned the four unique yards, the “south yard with leeway that is some distance from the adjoining land,” the “west yard that is protected by a fence,” the “north yard that captures indirect light and promotes ventilation,” and the “lane yard which opens to the road,” in the four buildings simultaneously while considering their connections with the buildings.

As a result, the buildings and yards are connected in a checkered pattern, creating connections with the yards from various perspectives. Furthermore, by having the corridors connecting the buildings and yards serve as paths connecting the north and south, daily movements become closely connected to the four yards, and by creating leeway in the width, they serve as inner terraces that create various acts, such as using them in sequence with the outer terraces or laying out furniture as extensions of the living room. By widening the lane yard that opens out to the road until the connecting side on the west, it goes beyond an individual yard and invites community as a yard that opens out to its surrounding environment.

We think that treating the architecture and yards equally during planning instead of first building the architecture and making yards in the blank spaces led to the richness of this residence.