PolyHouse

PolyHouse: Seasonal Inhabitation in Hokkaido

The disappearance of the social function of radiant heat in the last hundred years has unleashed architecture from its intrinsic relationship to thermal delight. ProposalThis proposal for a cabin retreat in Taiki-cho, Japan imagines new forms of seasonal inhabitation by integrating spatial, social, and thermal agendas into an overall strategy that ranges from the scale of regional landscape to the scale of the individual room. The building is organized into four thermal zones configured by the inhabitant and altered by local climatic conditions.

Experiencing the house changes along with seasonal variations and personal patterns of living, while each visit provides a new experience of light, air, and radiant warmth. BasisBuilding on the low tech intelligence of the Ainu Hut and Minka Farmhouse, Polyhouse harnesses the most efficient heat source (site chopped wood) and most effective heating regime (radiant heat) available. A series of thermal curtains lets users reflect, focus, spread, and/or absorb the central wood stove’s infrared heat into each space as desired. The multi-scalar adaptability of the system allows the retreat to shrink or expand in response to the seasonal variations: in winter the house shrinks down to essential spaces, literally wrapping blankets around the fire place, kitchen, and sleeping loft; in summer the house opens up fully for ventilation, light, and views of the surrounding meadow.

We propose to build the structure and stick walls from local Japanese larch, and have developed a system of site fences and exterior cladding to drift and hold snowfall up against the house as added insulation during the severe Northern Japanese winters. This thermal buffer is replicated

inside: ‘poche’ spaces mitigate heat loss between occupied spaces and outside conditions. In the summer, the buffers reverse function to slow heat gain during the day.

The power of this typology is its ability to adapt to many different site conditions, and produce multiple, yet highly specific configurations from day to day for a wide range of conditions. While our design is optimized for the site in Hokkaido, it is still a prototype, or example of the systems potential.

http://wlambeth.com/PolyHouse Project: Retreat in Nature Competition, Taiki-Cho, JapanCollaborators: Mark Rukamathu, Kurt Nieminen, Jason Hoeft, Ellen Garrett,

David BirgeYear: 2013