Tokyo-based architecture studio atelierco has renovated a former wooden house that carries the traces of the early Jomon period, about 15,000 years ago, with curved ceilings in Japan.

Named Pithouse In Kikuna, the 56-square-metre house is renovated on a site that stands as a shell mound and is opened up with new verticality to enlarge the interior space. 

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

The building was conceived as a share house consisting of six rooms, but it was sold three years later.

The architects carve out the interior space with decorative curved ceiling that is elaborated with slender wooden columns. The goal of the project is to expand the interior space and take more daylight.

Image © Chika Kato

"Fascinated by the potential of the one-story building (partly two stories) on a hill overlooking Mount Fuji, and thinking about living with the land that contained the shell mound, we lived in part of the building and began to dismantle it, checking its condition every season," said atelierco.

"It took about three and a half years for the basic design, and six months of full-scale construction while living in a temporary house nearby, and after about four years, we started our new life."

Image © Chika Kato

During the renovation, the architects reduced the total floor area from the original 83,86 square meters to 56,69 square meters, but the building feels as open as an outdoor grotto. 

The foundation, which had been lying under the floor, was exposed, and trees were planted by making holes in the moisture-proof concrete. "Cold air, the smell of soil, and rain stains come up from under the foundation," explained the studio. 

"The depth from the floor, which we call the hall, to the bottom of each pit varies from about 1.6m to 2.3m along the slope of the front road."

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Although the house has a clear and elongated layout, in the verticality, the plan of the house is not perceived since the structure offers en incredible depth and a mezzanine floor, a plenty of vertical columns.

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

The ceilings are the main design element of the project, and have a series of somewhat decorative curved shapes to emphasize the longitudinal direction. 

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

"The constraint of renovation work, which is not a zero-start, made me try to practice this kind of living," according to the studio.

"It has been two months since we started living in the house, and it is now up to us to figure out how to live in it throughout the four seasons." 

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

In the future, the architects plan to design the installation of the pit over the next few years.

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Image © Jumpei Suzuki

Site plan

Floor plan

Perspective section

Section

Elevations

atelierco is a Tokyo based architects' studio, founded in 2015 by Taishin SHIOZAKI and Saeco KOBAYASHI.

Project facts

Project name: Pithouse In Kikuna

Architects: atelierco

Location: Japan 

Size: 56m2 

Date: 2021 

Top image © Jumpei Suzuki

All images © Jumpei Suzuki, Chika Kato.

All drawings © atelierco

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