SUGARUKARAHAFU

2002 -

The word kuri refers to a residence for a Buddhist priest, annexed to a temple. Here, a small house for a young couple was added to an existing kuri. But one should expect more than just the enlargement of floor area with an extension. We decided to limit the addition to a bare minimum, allowing the existing kuri to remain almost wholly intact. Rather, the roof was changed from a plain gable to a pent roof with a shed slope, thus radically re-programming the life to evolve beneath.
The primary goal of reconfiguring the roof was to provide sufficient daylight in the house. Taking advantage of the raised ceiling, the large, copper roof became an extension of the floor of the loft. The space where interior and exterior are brought together into a whole is called the ‘roof room.’
In Japanese temple architecture, there is a charming roof extension form called sugaruhafu. As a small gift to the client, who strongly desired greenery on a narrow plot of land, we placed a wisteria trellis along the new pent roof, as if it were leaning against the structure (sugaru means “to lean” in Japanese). The wisteria trellis is an empty (kara) gable (hafu). The combination of these keywords gave the house its name, Sugarukarahafu. The trellis forms an approach leading to the existing kuri.

location Daito City, Osaka Pref.
principal use residence (priests’ quarters)
completion date 2002
total floor area 559㎡ (additional area: 43㎡) 
structure steel frame, reinforced concrete, wood
1 story and loft