NON-JAPANESE architects often confront two all-new considerations when they come to design a house in Niseko: one, the need to compensate for the uniquely immense volume of snowfall the home will have to contend with; and two, incorporating authentic Japanese design aesthetic.
These two issues compounded under Hong Kong-based architect James Saywell’s vision for Ekiraku, on the outskirts of Hirafu.
“One of the most important things for both me and the owners was that we somehow made the house of its place,” Saywell says. “None of us is Japanese and it’s my first project in Japan.
”It was very important from the get-go that we respect the very rich tradition, history and culture of Japanese building
“It was very important from the get-go that we respect the very rich tradition, history and culture of Japanese building, so that the soul of the house would feel that it was in Japan, without crossing the line into kitsch or cliché. This is tricky for me to say because I’m not Japanese, but somehow I wanted visitors to the house to sense, in a non-obvious way, that it was a Japanese building.”
One of the most obvious ways Saywell felt he could inject Japanese influence into the building was in the roofline, extending its eaves as is characteristic in traditional Japanese architecture, albeit in the south where snow wasn’t a consideration.
“The formal emphasis in Japan and much of Asian architecture is in the roofline, so it was very important to me to try to stretch out those eaves and get the wonderful shadows falling on the top parts of the walls.
“We worked very hard with the associate architect and engineer to try to stretch these out and make them very thin, which with snow loads was a considerable challenge. The snow certainly became another character at the meeting tables. It was a contradiction of being able to support huge snow loads and retain the delicacy and thinness of Japanese architecture.”
The exposed concrete exterior was a nod to the quality of concrete work in modern Japan, while the dark grey exterior siding was largely influenced by local farmhouses.
This exterior grey carries through to the interior, offset by liberal use of pale blond wood tones to add a contemporary feel. The Japanese use of panel walls made from wood also features prominently.
A key feature of the house is the monumental wall that is first visible alongside the ramp to the front door. The wall runs directly through to the other side of the house and has several purposes – firstly as a way to help divide the house into smaller quarters, and also as a playful way to present the spectacle of its views.
“Because the frontal view is so dramatic with Mt Yōtei and the farm alongside, the obvious thing was to turn everything towards that and give every room a big impact view,” Saywell says. “I actually didn’t want to do that – I wanted to save that prize view for the most important parts of the house. So one of the things the wall does is momentarily deny you the view once you’re on site. Then it’s reintroduced under a choreographed promenade through the building.
“Even though you never see the entire wall in one place it enters the building from the front entrance and slices through to the back of the house, where the master bathroom sits clinging to the other end of the wall as a pavilion floating in the trees.”
Another overriding objective was that the home retain a comfortable, homely atmosphere. The Hong Kong-based Chinese owners have three children and would often have other families staying with them.
“Aesthetically we wanted a modern house without being cold,” the owner says. “Ekiraku is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese characters “亦樂”, meaning to be happy. We selected these two words from the first line of the famous Confucian Analects: “Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?”.
“We built this house to share with our family and friends and we thought these characters accurately embodied our intentions for the house.”
The final product is better than they had envisioned. “The flow of the house, the proportions of the rooms, and the choices of materials came together beautifully. We couldn’t be happier. There are so many spots in the house where I want to sit and enjoy the different views. Our kids absolutely love it. From the first day we moved in, we all feel the house is truly built for our family and how we live.”
This article appeared in Powderlife 2015
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