Tanro House

The existing house and the big problem:
A 1930’s house with a 1970’s addition tacked on to the front. The floor plan
was a maze and it was necessary to walk around the house to get to the pool.

The Owner:
Admires the simplicity of Asian design.

The Fix:
A new covered path slices through and links together the flanking spaces of
the rearranged modern house. A colonnade of mobius (“mobius” because
each angle is rotated 90 degrees from the next) aluminum angle post and
beams is interspersed with skylight shafts of varying sizes and azimuths (due
to the existing roof shapes) creating a light filled corridor that re-imagines the
sacred Japanese Kairō.

The Reference:
A Tanro Kairo is the Japanese version of a cloister – it has 1-bay supported by
two rows of pillars – flanking windows (called renjimado - in this case translucent
(and clear) doors) let air and light in – and is generally considered sacred
space or leading to sacred space – in this case leading to the swimming pool.