House in Iwakuni

Four wings and four gardens create the landscape.
This is a quiet residential area located near the center of Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
On the west side of the site, there is a shrine that attracts many worshippers, and the mountains in the distance are beautiful. In addition to the client's desire to live openly while enjoying the view of the greenery, we planned various connections between the surrounding environment and the architecture.
Judging from the size of the site, a large garden on the south side could be considered, but this would create an uneven relationship between the various rooms and the garden, so the building was first divided into four wings, taking into consideration the lighting, ventilation, and surrounding buildings. At the same time, we placed four characteristic gardens in each of the four wings: a spacious south garden that is separated from the adjacent land, a west garden protected by a wall, a north garden that allows indirect light and promotes ventilation, and an alley garden that is open to the street, while considering their connection to the wings. As a result, the garden and the building are connected to each other in a checkerboard pattern, creating a connection between the garden and the building from various vantage points. The corridor connecting the garden and the building runs from north to south, creating a close relationship between the four gardens and the daily activities of the residents. The alley garden, which is open to the street, is extended to the west side of the building to induce community as a garden that is open to the surrounding environment.
We believe that the richness of this residence was achieved not by creating a garden in the space left by the architecture, but by treating the architecture and the garden equally in the planning process.