At the base of southern Japan's Yatsugatake mountain range, Tokyo-based architectural firm MDS has constructed a fan-shaped home suitable for both its residents—an elderly couple—and its natural setting.
Known as a "passive" house, the structure will be habitable without the use of air-conditioning or heating. In the winter, natural light will warm the southward-facing rooms; in the summertime, cross-ventilation will replace air-conditioning by way of corresponding northward and southward-facing windows. This is also aided by the shape of the home, which appears like a fan.
The home was designed in keeping with traditional Japanese principals like simplicity or reduction of clutter, naturalness and tranquility. The rooms are connected by open doorways and much of the interior—including a central staircase—is exposed wood.
The residents will grow their own vegetables in a garden designed by MDS for this purpose.
