LIXIL Announces Completion of INVERTED HOUSE’s Construction in Taiki-Cho Hokkaido

The LIXIL JS Foundation (located in Koto-ku, Tokyo; president: Yoichiro Ushioda), which facilitates surveys and research related to the housing and building materials industries as well as supporting the development of human resources, is pleased to announce today that the next-generation sustainable housing “INVERTED HOUSE” designed by the Oslo School of Architecture and Design has been completed on a site of Memu Meadows in Taiki-cho Hokkaido, environmental technology research facilities managed by the foundation.

INVERTED HOUSE is the top prize winner in the 5th LIXIL International Student Architectural Competition sponsored by the LIXIL JS Foundation, aimed to seek and review next-generation sustainable housing technology and communicating that technology to global society. The project was designed based on the theme: “House for Enjoying the Harsh Cold.”

INVERTED HOUSE has floors of different heights and roofs of different slopes, which help control its environment, thereby allowing residents to embrace the cold and the beauty of seasonal changes. The two intersecting walls, which are the main structure, divide the house in four main rooms with specific architecture, where all life activities, including cooking, dining, taking a bath or sleeping, are performed outdoors and the rooms inside are made to allow them to seek shelter from the unexpected bad weather.

The four spaces are made up of the “Garden Room,” which will gather snow in winter, the “Outside Living Room,” the main space of the house, the “Room for Cooking” protected from the strong winds with a very steep roof and the “Inside Room,” the most protected room against the external environment. The character of inside-outside spaces inverts with seasons. The warmest space in winter, the Inside Room, becomes the coolest shadowed space in summer. The outside spaces, harsh in winter, become the most pleasant ones in summer.

With the completion of INVERTED HOUSE, Memu Meadows is currently a home to five houses designed by students. The effects of these “next-generation sustainable housing” will continue to be verified.

--Reference Information--
INVERTED HOUSE
Design Team: The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway)
Supervisors:
Neven Fuchs, Associate Professor/Thomas McQuillan, Professor
Raphael Zuber, Part-time Instructor
Students:
Laura Cristea
Mari Nysveen Hellum
Stefan Hurrell
Niklas Lenander

Architect: Kengo Kuma and Associates
Structural Engineer: Oak Structural Design Office
General Constructor: Takahashi Construction Company
Building Area: 94.68m²
Construction Cost: Approx. 30 million yen
Construction Period: September 2015 - January 2016

[Concept]
INVERTED HOUSE was built based on the seemingly contradicting theme: “House for Enjoying the Harsh Cold.” The house, which opens its four walls to the external environment, is proposed as a house that embraces the cold and the beauty of seasonal changes. All life activities, including cooking, dining, taking a bath or sleeping, are performed outdoors while the inside rooms are made to allow residents to take shelter from the unexpected bad weather.

Source: http://www.lixiljsfound.com/