(2025) — Residential — Kyoto, Japan
RESIDENCE 04
A meditative retreat in the Higashiyama hills
Residence 04 occupies a narrow hillside plot in Kyoto's Higashiyama district — a neighborhood of paper-screen houses, temple approaches, and slow time. Our mandate was singular: a home that disappears into its context while asserting a precise material logic. The result is a series of interlocking concrete volumes terraced into the slope, oriented away from the tourist path and toward the wooded hill behind.
APPROACH
01Site-responsive massing that follows the slope gradient
02Exposed in-situ concrete walls with hand-applied cedar formwork texture
03Integrated roji garden path connecting the entrance to the tea room
04Passive solar orientation with deep overhangs eliminating summer direct gain
Project Data
Site Area310 m²
Built Area480 m²
StructureIn-situ reinforced concrete
EnvelopeFair-face concrete / cedar cladding
CompletionMarch 2025
PhotographyHiroshi Ota