Rooms that follow the landscape by On Design

by Johnny on September 14, 2012

All photos by Koichi Torimura |click to enlarge

Summer is coming to an end, but I can still lust over vacation homes. Just last month Japanese architecture studio On Design completed a brand new vacation home in the picturesque town of Karuizawa. Favored for its proximity (and relative coolness) to Tokyo, the town is a common destination for Tokyoites to escape the summer heat.

There, up on a small hill, the architects constructed a weekend getaway that emphasizes one thing – the scenery. But don’t call it a home. “Rooms that follow the landscape” are just that – a series of rooms that are situated to capture different moments as the sun moves across the sky. Site-specific irregularities like inclines, bumpiness and angles – elements that are usually avoided or, in some cases, smoothed out – all work together with the rooms to create a space that literally follows the landscape.