Spiral Garden is a residential project dedicated to a family of four, residing on the slope of Awaji Island, Japan. The design studies temperate nature of the Island, as well as the family's distinctive, nature-conscious approach to all aspects of life.

In response to its context, the house employs local timber construction. It has a unique form, consisting of a continuous spiral that rises towards the central space. We think, the structure although is a unique form to succeed with traditional structure. The structure outline draw spiral line and beams which are radially bridged from the center cylinder pillar. This form is special, hence every joints connections are crafted by carpenter manually.

The inner and outer walls finishing is as same as traditional Japanese houses, made by soil from Awaji Island. Under this finishing we also used the woven bamboo lattice. The floor uses a technique called “Tataki”. It is a hard-packed earthen floor comprising of earth, lime and water that is beaten until solidification and is extremely resistant to high foot traffic.

The roof is a spiral garden where growers raise their spirals while the ecology continues from the ground. Since the shape is spiral, various directions and height can be obtained, so that various plants can be planted according to the sunshine and humidity. In addition, the water that falls down on the roof gradually descends without sweeping down by the planned swirl, and is led to the reservoir while moistening everything. The water in the irrigation pond delivers cold air into the houses in the summer. Using trees and soil, we decided to create a place of living where we can always feel the assets of light, wind, water and greenery. 

 The project is on a 1,000 m.sq site on Awaji Island, Hyogo, Japan. To make use of the site to its’ maximum extent, the house and its’ landscape were planned at the same time. The client, a family of four, requested, “Instead of a finished house, we want a house which we can complete on our own; a house that grows along with the family.” The request prompts the office to re-think the ideal residence for the family. Three years of design process has stripped away the excess while keeping the essentials intact. The office explored a more primitive architectural approach based on family gathering. It resulted in a spiral, continuous plan that are in contact with the exterior at all sides, with rooms such as storage and bedroom on its’ fringes. Extension for children’s bedroom in the future is also accommodated. Various possibilities between the house and the garden emerged upon inspection of the plan. At the core of the house is an unassigned space, Niha, with diameter of about 2.4m and a height of 7.5m. From the kitchen and dining room where the family would gather, the Niha is hidden from sight. During the day sunlight seeps through the sky light atop the Niha, with a diameter of 600 mm. At night darkness sinks as there are no lights installed. When opened, the sky light also functions as a tunnel to which the wind ascends from the ground. As it is unassigned to a pre-defined function, the center of the house is free to be used for miscellaneous activities, be it meditation or gathering with friends. Its’ existence is significant in which it caters to the family’s life dynamics.

Its’ unconventional form conceals a nod to Awaji island’s local timber-constructed houses, clad in Earth. To support the roof, timber beams follow the spiral and ‘radiate’ from the central space, exposed in the interior. Every part of the timber construction were hand-carved by carpenters. Its’ interior wall was finished with Awaji Island’s Earth on top of interwoven lattice of Bamboo collected around the site. The outer wall is scraped with a finishing of soil and mortar, while the floor was finished with Sanwa Earth technique. The interior earth finishing are able to store heat and control humidity. The roof is planned as a spiral garden, in which the ground rises towards the sky. The spiral roof offers varying sunlight exposure, height and humidity, hence able to support plants with diverse growth requirements. When it rains, the roof garden is soaked while rainwater flows towards the pond. In the summer, incoming wind will be cooled by the pond before it enters the house. Throughout the garden, trees to be planted have been planned accordingly. It is hoped that by introducing natural phenomenon as inseparable parts of the house, the family would be one with nature; in the form of a house where the earth and trees grow, in which the house and the garden complements each other. When the house is complete, the story of the growing house and garden has only just begun.