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A’s Karuizawa weekend home stands on a slope seeing Mt. Myougi toward the south. The owner wanted to make the best of the trees and flowers that were naturally growing and asked the architect Satoshi Okada and garden designer Paul Smither to help.
Due to space regulations along the boundary line, Mr. Okada maximized the space by planning a spindle-shaped building pointing east and west. The giant red steel roof was designed to be thin and elegant. The roof slants 1/5 degrees and ends at the edge of the slope on the east side, hiding the house from neighboring houses. The north side of the building is underground, and the south side is open towards the slope. The bedrooms and bathrooms were planned in the reinforced concrete basement. The living and dining rooms have glass on 4 sides, and were built on the steel-structured ground floor. The light leads the guests from the dark underground entrance hall to a glass bridge that connects to the open living/dining room that overlooks the mountains. Three alcoves were created on the walls of the dimmed basement floor. The spacing and angles were calculated as to not to see everything at one time and give the space an expansive feel.
The garden was designed to keep the original landscape; the vegetation invites trees and bugs around the water, and flowers blossom seasonally. This home added a new sense of beauty to the nature around it and created a beautiful life that coexists with nature.

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