When architecture follows nature’s example in a successful way the outcome is always surprisingly efficient and discrete. A perfect example of such delicate operation stands erected in Matsumoto, Japan. It’s called MYZ Nest and the name clearly reveals what kind of Nature’s source is behind this small, unique project. A mysterious bright building contrast with the green rice fields that surround it: a single plan conceals the whole domestic program distributed in a total floor area of 97sqm. In order to take advantage from the natural topography, the house is partially sunken into the ground with excavated soil built up around one facade for a better insulation, similar to a rabbit’s warren.
And like in an animal’s shelter, MYZ has no kind of interior partition: no floor-to-ceiling walls were created so that inhabitants can freely transform the internal open plan of the house using furniture and screens.
The distribution of the program reinforces this special condition: only the bathroom and technical area are placed in separate rooms. The rest of the house is displaced in a perfect sequence of functional areas: entrance, master bedroom and single bedroom, kitchen and living room complete the residential program.
Sliding glass doors invite us to enter or to step out to the courtyard. Interior wall surfaces are lined with boards of cement-bonded wood chip that resembles the compacted twigs of a bird’s nest. Wooden pavements also contribute to a tempered atmosphere for inhabitants to enjoy, contrasting with the white painted ceilings. Organic values seem to be fully captured and also enhanced in the constructive process of this peculiar building…After all we are talking about a house called MYZ Nest.
Architects: no 555
Photography: Koichi Torimura
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