HAUS IN ECHIGO CHO

Two buildings—a two-story conventional house and a single-story Kyomachiya—sit face-to-face at the end of a narrow alley. These were linked to form a single home. At first, the request was to clearly separate them into a “living wing” and a “hobby wing,” but as the discussions deepened, the boundary softened and their functions began to blend. Broadly speaking, the home now consists of a semi-private zone for the couple’s daily life, and a semi-public zone for welcoming guests. The two structures complement each other; neither is fully self-contained, and that small inconvenience has become a quiet delight for a couple with many interests. In this way, a home with a rhythm of ordinary and extraordinary—hare and ke—came into being, enriching daily life while leaving room for joyful departures from it.

Referred to for convenience as the “Hobby Wing,” this roughly 10-tsubo space is largely occupied by a custom-built kitchen, a doma (earthen floor), and a 4.3-meter-long single-slab Japanese horse chestnut dining table that spans the earthen and wooden floors. While generous in proportion to the total floor area of the two buildings, this decisiveness directly contributes to the richness of daily life. Offcuts from the same slab were later reused as the headboard in the bedroom.

As envisioned at completion, the residential wing places bicycle storage, wet areas, a walk-in closet, a piano space, and a workspace on the first floor, with a hall for percussion, the main bedroom, and a guest room on the second. Though compact in area, it functions as a flexible vessel that accepts overflow and adapts gradually through everyday use.

Existing columns and beams were retained, and the interiors finished with wallpaper and lauan plywood. Salvaged joinery was reused wherever possible, including leftover aluminum sashes for the balcony and doors from a Vories-designed hospital repurposed as storage. While no costly materials were used, careful attention to placement and color ensured a cohesive whole.

By acquiring two facing buildings, the alley between them became a private space. Enclosing it with a wall ensured privacy while turning an outward-oriented way of living into a source of everyday richness. For the husband working from home, it also supports switching between work and rest and choosing spaces to suit his mood.