Kominka

I got a japanese old house called Kominka.

There is no record of the age of the building, but it seems to be older than that, as it can be confirmed from an aerial photograph taken 50 years ago.

Old woman, who came to help clean up, said, “This house has good air and is comfortable.” This building, which is a crystal of the people who have lived in this area, can certainly feel the comfort that is different from the comfort of a brand new building.

It is a typical floor plan that 4 rooms layouted as square, that is often found in old houses in Japan rural areas. On the east side, there is Doma, as a kitchen, a bath, and  so water area. On the south area, there is Engawa, as a corridor and a balcony. When I open the windows, the sea wind from the Tokyo bay blows through the entire house.

Another Living Base

I plan to renovate Kominka and turn into an atelier. Not as a villa, but as one living base in two living bases. However, over the past few years, this Kominka, nobody had been lived, damaged here and there, turning into piles of garbage. 

The my first priority is to start living here.

One of the options is to rebuild the building just because it is an old building, but it would be impossible to reproduce such an attractive building anymore. It was made without standard products at all, so the natural shape of the trees such as the beams was used as it was. It seems that splendid beams are difficult to obtain nowadays, and they are sold at a high price when old houses are demolished.

As an amateur, I can’t imitate traditional construction methods, but I plan to renovate by combining new materials and techniques while leaving as much as possible.