This Serene Japanese Retreat’s Overlapping Roofs Look Like Fallen Leaves
Aptly named Four Leaves, this curvaceous weekend home in Karuizawa fits organically into the surrounding woods.
Located in Karuizawa, a popular summer resort town in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, Four Leaves is a weekend getaway designed to accommodate the homeowner and their guests in a lush, sylvan setting. Designed by Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS), the highlight of the stunning, 2,400-square-foot house is its sloping, angular roof sections that are delicately assembled to resemble fallen leaves.
Viewed from above, the home wraps around itself and is folded around a small central courtyard. The roof sections overlap in an organic way, giving the home its name: Four Leaves.
Norihito Yamauchi
The design consists of three interconnected volumes each carefully appointed according to its function. The open-plan living, dining, and kitchen areas face southeast, overlooking an exterior terrace and enjoying a light-filled orientation. The master bedroom and its spa-like bathroom face west for a more private, forest view.
The roofs’ concave and convex forms are elegantly layered and integrated into the home's forested setting.
Norihito Yamauchi
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The use of simple organic materials, such as timber and stone, helps the home naturally integrate into its forested, mountain setting. Large expanses of glass and exposed wooden beams extend straight into the exteriors to further connect the home to the environment. The uniquely shaped and layered roofs add to the home’s organic form.
"The roofs were designed as curved surfaces like gently twisted leaves," explains architect Kentaro Ishida in a statement. "Every roof was designed as a ruled surface in which straight LVL joists were arranged continuously to form an organic geometry."
One portion of the roof arches.
Norihito Yamauchi
The arched form of the roofline provides a cozy, second-floor interior space.
Norihito Yamauchi
The roofs also make for interesting interior spaces. The ceiling of each volume echoes the shape of its roof. An arched roofline creates cozy, curved interiors on a second-floor space, and the main living area exists under a slanted ceiling of exposed wood beams.
The ceiling features exposed wood beams which extend straight out to the eaves.
Norihito Yamauchi
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Learn MoreFloor-to-ceiling glazing makes for a bright and airy living space and overlooks the exterior terrace.
Norihito Yamauchi
The master bedroom and the master bath enjoy a more private, shaded forest view.
Norihito Yamauchi
The spa-like Japanese bath has a strong connection with the outdoors.
Norihito Yamauchi
The outline of the bath appears to extend to the exterior of the home.
Norihito Yamauchi
The villa as it fits into the local landscape.
Norihito Yamauchi
Four Leaves frame model
Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS)
Four Leaves site plan
Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS)
Project Credits:
Architect of Record: Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS) / @kias_kentaro
Builder/General Contractor: Sasazawa Kensetsu
Structural Engineer: Building Structure Institute, Tokyo / Kazuyuki Ohara
Interior Design: Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS) / Kentaro Ishida
Photography: Norihito Yamauchi
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