Akio Nakasa / Naf Architect & Design

This is a tunnel-like house with living rooms at the east and west end.

The household of the client consists of three, a husband who is musician, a wife who is magazine editor and a child. Parents of the husband run temple and at the same time run kindergartens and nurseries, making the most of the vast premises of the temple. The couple are also engaged in this family business.

As the couple has various activity fields (channels) socially, their requests were complex at the early stage, but after several meetings we came to see the gist of their requirements.

(Point１)
Offer a space which serve as channels to the outside of the temple for music activity, magazine edition and other activities. Channel to the temple will remain as before.

(Point２)
Secure a private space adjacent to the premises of the temple. In the premises of the temple, there is “kuri”, living quarters of monks in a Buddhist temple, but it is difficult to secure absolute privacy.

Various activities of the couple were sorted out in two categories by the criteria of “in relation with the temple or not”, and two living rooms were placed in the east and west end of the tunnel-like house for two kinds of activities.

East living room has a direct doorway to the frontal road of the premises of the temple and it is the contact for the couple’s music and magazine activities. This room was supposed to be versatile space which could serve, for an occasion, as a party room and, for another, as a cafe for parents of the children in kindergarten.

East living room has a doorway to the kuri of the temple, and serves as buffer zone between the temple and the household keeping adequate distance at the same time maintaining the channel to the temple. Greenery around the kuri of the temple viewed from the living room was supposed to create small space cosy

The centre of the tunnel-like house between the east and west living rooms has lower ceilings, making them the most private bedrooms (master bedroom and child’s room). Windows in the bedrooms were reduced to secure privacy from the surroundings and light is mainly taken in from the top lights. Walls are painted in blue for master bedroom and yellow for child’s room.

In the contemporary society where sense of values are so diverse, the role of the temple in the community is more frequently questioned, which is the case with the temple of the couple’s family. They have responded to the needs of the community by, among others, running kindergartens and nurseries. The temple will continue to serve as community space incorporating various channels and activating the community. The purpose of setting two channels in the house is not to compartmentalize the activities of the couple but to prepare the ground to induce activation of the temple’s role by mutual interaction of two channels.

– Akio Nakasa –