Sendomachi Residence

In the coastal town of Saiki in Oita Prefecture, we renovated a over 90 years old wooden house. Born into a family of malted rice maker that has been in business for over 300 years, my client decided to create a residence with an office that serves as a hub for creating new activities, gathering together with the locals to revive the bustle of the town.

The distinctive feature of the house are its earthen floor and beautiful wooden beams above the atrium space. A dirt floor,
connecting the entrance and the back yard called Tori-doma, provides a space to work and meetings, also can be used for events or seminars for locals by opening the sliding doors. In the raised floor area there are kitchen and dining room, which is the heart of the family's living space.Kitchen set towards to Tori-doma so that a lively scene of the family adds life to the office, furthermore, to the front road. We planned dining room right under the atrium, showed the roof beams which the owner was deeply impressed. It seems like this old beams that has supported the house for more than 90 years are protecting the family as a beautiful symbol. On the second floor, a master bedroom and a children's room are placed around the atrium.

To actively engage with towns and streets and open a part of life to the community, and live in the residence that public elements are naturally captured to and then, strongly transmit to the local community. We are grateful to be able to team up with a client who has hypothesize and practice it in everyday living. Sometime locals may stop by because of the delicious smell from the kitchen, and sometimes someone might stop by because of the liveliness of the gathering held in the Tori-doma― We hope this residence will bring that kind of moments. The reason is that that's the scene he wants to see, at the same time, the residence we wanted to create as designer.