by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
This project is a restoration of an old house in Higashi Harima district, which was designated as “half collapsed” after the Hanshin great earthquake in 1995. Also, this is a renovation project in an attempt to convert the traditional program to that of a modern house by replacing the decrepit sections.
by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
When I looked at the existing house for the first time, I could recognize that some parts were well-kept and, other parts were not. For example, the deteriorated 300-years-old wooden gate house was heavily damaged. So I judged it was not worth to keep on, and decided to dismantle it. “Oku”(private section) ,the oldest part of this house, and the northern volume under lean-to roof were dismantled also. On the other hand, the relatively well-kept 90-years-old main building with its traditional square grid plan (with four rooms) and its double big gables were left.
by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
After that, around the main building, a private room, water utilities and the traffic line (ramp) are added. Excess in the original floor space is reduced to correspond to the size of the family (four people). The new section twines around the main building and will function as reinforcement against earthquakes in the future. The reinforcement is provided through an airy, soft wrapping. The structure of the new section is 2×4 inches wooden system.
by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
The existing roof can be seen beyond the new section from the street. The external walls of the new section are covered with vernacular siding boards of burnt cedar to better blend with the townscape. The irregular gate-shaped volume on the façade represents the homage to the original gate revived. In this gate-shaped volume, an independent private room with terrace is housed above the parking space.
by Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
Furthermore, you can see the most interesting and symbolic scene at the interior. At the corner of the corridor on the 2nd floor, you notice that there are 3 kinds of walls for some reason. On the right side of the corner, the one wall used to be exterior wall can be seen with the other interior wall at the same time. And, the yet another rough wall on the left side of the corner used to be the back of wall. That is, the main building was built as an addition to “Oku ” about 100 years ago, so the surface of this wall could not be finished because this wall had attached to “Oku ” volume back to back since then.
I recognize here through this project architecture has an aspect of the vessel of memory.
title：HANKAI HOUSE
location：Akashi-City, HYOGO
principal use：residence
Architects：Katsuhiro Miyamoto & Associates
Principal in Charge：Katsuhiro Miyamoto
Project Team：Yuko Nakano
Collaborator：Masahiro Miyake / y+M design office
Structural Engineering：Hirokazu Toki / University of Shiga Prefecture
General Contractor：Fujiwara Kensetsu
site area：850.18㎡
built area：111.72㎡
total floor area：438㎡ (additional area:193.47㎡)
（first floor area：95.47㎡、second floor area：98.00㎡）
structure：wood
: 2 stories
completion date：December, 2007
Website: www.kmaa.jp
