The House in Ropponmatsu, another minimal building by the Japanese architect Kazunori Fujimoto, was just completed this summer.
The Hiroshima based architecture office of Kazunori Fujimoto was hired to design a two-bedroom residential building on a narrow and long, 6m x 18m (19,6’ x 59’) site in the Ropponmatsu near the center of Fukuoka City. He was asked to design the building in a way that not too much shadow was to casted on the neighboring building and garden to the north.
Kazunori Fujimoto proposed a three-story building with a total floor area of 99 m2 (1,066 S.F.) that was L-shaped in section: a one-story bungalow with a three-story extension.
Situated at a busy corner, the building was developed almost entirely in concrete, shutting its light and open interior space off from the outside.
From the entrance courtyard the visitor can see through floor-to-ceiling windows the open kitchen and living area and as far as the second small courtyard with the bedroom behind it at the end of the building. In short, the entire ground floor opens up once one enters the building.
Storage space and an all-white bathroom are placed in the second floor.
The third floor is only occupied by the other bedroom and thus the most private room of the building.
A long window oriented towards the front of the building is opening the view of the trees in the garden next door and the mountains behind the city.
While respecting its surroundings, the house in Ropponmatsu is a secluded space in the center of the city that provides an atmosphere of private openness in its interior enclosed and outdoor spaces.
