Salon in Narimasu
This is a typical Japanese traditional private house, which is timber structure, was built around 160 years ago. The owner's family is wealthy farmers and landed gentry, and owned this house. Most of this type houses has already been demolished.
It hadn't been used for over 10 years due to some deterioration. The columns have started to lean in the 160 years. The roof, which was originally thatched roofing, had already been changed to the roof with traditional Japanese tiles.The windows which were originally paper screens have been long-replaced to the windows with glass.
First, we surveyed the whole of the house in its existing conditions. We organized the results of the surveys and made the policies and the objectives. Based on these, we developed the plan of this project. As the necessary parts were demolished, unexpected elements appeared in the process. For each of these cases, the plan was changed, adapted and applied those elements to the design. This house has been changed to a "salon" for gathering parents of a kindergarden. The local government officer who register the cultural property have started to introduce this project to other owners as a good reference.
