House in hill immersed into rugged landscape

House in Hill is a single storey villa in Gunma, Japan, designed by Cell Space Architects. Immersed into a south-facing hillside of a wooded site, the design seeks to keep as much of the natural landscape intact by curving around the topography to trace the contours of the land.

Placed on a low gradient of the hill, the design is initiated by the form of the topography, working with it in order to generate as well as define the space. An outdoor terrace finished in wood wraps around existing trees, filling in the gap between the landscape and the entrance and the house. In addition to providing structural support, the roof rafters are used as a finish to visually aid the sense of space by directing and projecting the interior outwards. The beams are extended beyond the outline of the dwelling to create a curving overhang.

Predominantly finished in floor-to-ceiling glazing, the design secures a panoramic view of the surrounding national park. Partition walls that divide the interior are kept to a minimum by utilizing a series of vertical louvers made out of round wooden rods. The effect is a porous screen that maintains visual connection throughout the house while still defining the individual programs. The contour line of the hillside is continued throughout the communal space, manifesting in staged areas, steps, and curved built-in furniture. Seating arrangements are resolved as benches that hug the form of the land. Both interior and exterior treatment of the design seeks to find a middle ground between architecture and landscape. Via