ALTS Design Office curates its Iwakura House located in Kyoto, Japan, to highlight the sweeping mountain views across both the northern and the southern sides of the site.
The architects constructed a new house at the corner of a quiet residential neighborhood in Sakyo-ward, Kyoto, after demolishing the existing building on the lot. The former building had a three-story structure, and as it was surrounded by low-rise housing, the third floor was the perfect location to enjoy the open view. The client wanted a house where they can take advantage of this view, and thus they proposed to place the house’s living room on the third floor.
There are mountain views on both the northern and the southern sides, and with the low-rise residential neighborhood, you can see fireworks in the summer. There are windows that frame the view, and a bench by the window to connect the inside and outside.
A bay window on the northern side functions as part of the kitchen space. Parts of the kitchen and the living room have a connection with the outside, creating open and comfortable space. The client is in her twenties, and his future family structure is unknown. The client works online at home, and thus creating comfortable work spaces around the house was necessary. This is why architects proposed a flexible, adjustable space that could adapt to his future lifestyle, without fixed individual rooms as were seen in the previous building.
The first floor has concrete floors and a two story room, and functions as an open space connected to the outdoor space — perfect for inviting friends, having pets, and other hobby uses. In the future, the client can make changes to the layout, creating individual rooms based on the needs of the moment. The house fits the site conditions as well as the clients’ everyday lives, and thus keeps evolving together with the client.
