House in the Forest by Florian Busch Architects

Type: Residential
Location: Rankoshi, Hokkaido, Japan
Project Date: 2017-2020
Team: Florian Busch, Sachiko Miyazaki, Mayo Shigemura, Luca Marulli, Tenesha Caton, Max Duval
Structural Engineering: OAK (Masato Araya, Takayuki Fujimoto)
Contractor: Wakisaka Corporation
Size: GFA – 230 m²
Structure: Timber frame on a raised reinforced concrete slab

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This view of the house showcases more of the surrounding lush landscape of tall trees that complement the wooden tones of the house exterior.

This is a view of the house's flat roof that could also work as a walkway.

This is a close look at one of the corner's of the house exterior showcasing the texture of the exterior wall.

The design of the house is made to bypass the tall mature trees of the landscape and use the spaces in between them.

This nighttime view of the house exterior shows the warm glow of the windows from the interior lights.

This is a closer look at the slatted design of the windows.

This is a closer look at the textured and slatted exterior walls as well as the elevation of the house from the ground.

The house is accessed through a set of steps with a simple railing on the side.

This nighttime view of the house exterior showcases more of the warm glow of the windows that make it stand out against the surrounding dark landscape.

This side of the house shows a graveled walkway that leads from a part of the house that touches the ground.

The earthy wooden exteriors of the house makes it stand out against the surrounding green forest of tall trees.

This is a closer look at the entrance of the house with a graveled walkway and a step that connects the house to the ground.

This is another look at the side of the house that is elevated from the ground, perfect for a balcony.

The earthy wooden exterior walls of the house makes it stand out against the surrounding forest of trees.

This nighttime view of the house features the warm glow of the windows and glass wall that gives a glimpse of the interior.

This is another nighttime view of the other glass wall that looks into the bedroom with a warm glow.

This is a close look at the interior of one of the glass walls fitted with a built-in desk.

This is a view of the kitchen with a alrge wooden kitchen island in the middle surrounded by bright walls and ceiling.

This other interior with glass wall is fitted with a built-in wooden bench facing the view of tall trees.

This is the door that leads to the bedroom with a platform bed facing a large glass wall.

This is a glimpse of the forest landscape beyond the glass wall of the kitchen on the far side.

This is a close look at the modern two sink vanity of the bathroom with a large mirrored wall above it.

This is a view of the hallway that leads to the kitchen. It has dark flooring that is contrated by the walls and ceiling.

This interior of one of the glass walls is fitted with a built-in wooden bench that faces the view.

Upon entry of the house, you are welcomed by this simple foyer that is fitted with a simple mudroom of wall-mounted hooks and wooden bench.

This is another view of the hallway of the house showcasing the bright white walls complemented by the various wooden elements.

This is an aerial view of the house showcasing the surrounding thick forest of tall trees.

This is another aerial view of the house that show the full design and unique look of the house.

This is another aerial view of the house that show the full design and unique look of the house surrounded by tall trees.

This is an illustration of the house's various elevations.

This is an illustration of the house floor plan with measurements and labels.

This is a view of the house's scale model showcasing the surrounding terrain.

This project begins with close to three hectares of barely touched forest. Only a short distance from Niseko’s ski slopes, the silence here is the antithesis of the vacation bustle that has turned several of the renowned ski area’s towns into a haphazard sprawl of increasingly suburban dimensions.

Solitude

Enchanted by the beauty of the region but disturbed by this relentlessly encroaching pseudo-suburbia, the owners, a large family, are seeking escape in the forest’s solitude. Consequentially, the brief is not for a house but for a time in and with the forest.

Trees

The site is an almost perfect square with 160-meter-long edges, filled with tall pine trees. As we approach, a mound prevents any views into the site: The only access, a small rural road running along the northern boundary, was lowered many years ago. After we climb up this mound, we stand between the trees. A gentle slope leads down towards the south for about 100 meters before the top of a steep acclivity demarcates the site’s southern border. About half-way in, there’s a clearing at the site’s western boundary.

Instinct

Moving between the trees evokes curiosity. We are probing the surroundings. Every subtle movement changes the depth of our perception. The clearing that we have discovered is the site’s only place where the distance turns the trees into an abstract background. Yet instead of placing the building in the middle of the clearing (which would result in 360 degrees of background), we keep meandering between the trees at the edge of the clearing, protected by the trees around us.

Forest

The building branches out horizontally. Moving through the house is moving through the forest. As our views keep changing from far to near, the forest is both a distant background and tactile environment.

The end of each branch is cut open. The closer we move to the extremes (the end of the branches), the more we are drawn into the forest. While the protection of the inside separates us physically from the experience of the forest, the focus and scale of the windows to the forest intensifies it. We are sitting in the forest.

In the house’s central spine, this focus of selection is replaced by a multi-faceted instantaneity. As a multitude of views of the forest around us are filling the space, the original experience inside the forest is always present.

Dialogue

The House in the Forest is not about a fixed form but an ever-changing dialogue with the forest. The eventually built is merely the result of a process of probing and responding to the surroundings to create a place where the family can be both together and by themselves, where they can become part of the forest.

By Jon Dykstra · See their LinkedIn.