A noise in the forest: The Ring House by Takei-Nabeshima-Architects (TNA)

The latest in a series of posts featuring small, architect-designed Japanese houses continues with the Ring House designed by Takei-Nabeshima-Architects (TNA) . Completed around 2005, it sits in a forest just outside Tokyo making a sublime country retreat. The idea of making a tower in the forest can be found in several indigenous cultures from as far afield as New Zealand and North America. Usually these are totems such as carved tree trunks and are usually about making a cultural noise in the forest. Creating a multi-storey house in the forest is an entirely different matter. The archetype is normally reserved for the city where space is a premium. Here however, the tower is used to create a sense of intimacy with the forest providing an opportunity to appreciate the trees, and in particular the canopy, in a way less commonly experienced. The name of the house refers to the rings of cladding that alternate between transparent and opaque. Although this distribution suggests many floors to the building, it is something of an illusion and serves to screen private accommodation and service areas. With gratitude to WAN.