Kanazawa, Japan.

The existing site is an empty concrete lot in front of a small wooden framed house. There have been several iterations of a residence on this lot, including an original long-lot Machiya. In the typical fashion of completely demolishing to build anew, this Machiya was replaced by splitting this lot in two, leaving space for a two-story residence in the rear, and in the front a kakejiku workshop for the former owner. After another round of demolition, the workshop was razed leaving the site in the state as it exists today.

This proposal for an addition to the existing home includes a new type of workshop with an office space towards the street. The simple form of the addition sits biased to one side of the lot creating a garden space towards the street. The simple form of the addition sits biased to one side of the lot creating a garden space and is designed entirely to match the dimensions of the standard lumber materials. The addition’s structure is wooden like many timber framed homes in Japan, but here square section timbers are left unaltered from their manufactured dimensions, instead being connected by specifically fabricated connectors with steel reinforcement.

The intent behind maximizing the use of dimensional lumber in its off-the-shelf size is part of recognizing the existing building culture in which this proposal would ultimately become another participant. That is, the nature of cyclical construction and demolition. Not only does the use of materials at given sizes reduce necessary efforts in assembly, but it also is a way to increase the usefulness of materials after disassembly. These materials in a stock size after the life of a building have greater usefulness in reuse, repurposing, or reclamation the closer they are to the forms in which they are manufactured.