This is a renovation of a house built 53 years ago."This house gives us surprise and joy like seeds in unexpected parts of pomegranate fruit.", the client said. Besides typical repairs to keep the dwelling performance like a water proof, insulation and seismic strengthening, an update of the interior configuration was tried considering the following two points. The 1st is to keep the joy of the existing  and respect all the impressions left by former dwellers ; the 2nd is to keep the space to adjust their lifestyle according to their working situation and their children's growth.

Some walls and columns in the small rooms are removed to make L-shaped living space and the spare room is changed into a passage adjacent to the existing corridor as "Bright-Corridor " connecting the hallway and the living space by adding a sliding door. This is a trial to disentangle the complication which has occured this 50 years and to make a new contiguous space which has "Bright-Corridor" as a knot. "Bright-Corridor " is an atelier, a library, a space for meeting and also a space like open corridor (Hiro-en) which brings light and wind to the living space. The waste of space caused by passages in the juxtaposition, gives leeway to respond to the various changes of lifestyle.

Keeping the character such as printed plywood, tiles, old glass doors, some typical Japanese arrangements, new materials were chosen considering the effect on the neighboring old materials. And the details on the borders were designed following the existing. This is not the way to get clearness made by the obvious contrast between new and old , but the ad hoc approach to get a newness in a whole by montage which respects the existing.

築53年の戸建て住宅の改修。「こんなところにも実が詰まっている！というような、驚きと喜びのある、ざくろのような家なんです。」　先の住人によって紡がれた、既存の楽しさ、痕跡を残すこと。子供の成長や仕事の変化に対応できる余白を残すこと。この2点を考慮に入れ、屋根の修理と葺き替え、外壁の塗装、耐震改修といった基本性能の回復と、それに伴う内部の更新を行いました。

細かく分かれた和室の柱・壁を撤去し、生活の場をL字型に纏める。引き戸を設けることで、既存の客間を、玄関から生活の場へとつながる「明るい廊下」として、既存の廊下に並置する。数度の改築を経て、縺れ、綻ろんだ部屋の連なりを解きほぐし、「明るい廊下」を中心に結び直しました。「明るい廊下」はアトリエであり、ライブラリーであり、団欒の場であり、生活の場へ光や風を届ける、広縁のようなスペースです。一見無駄に思われる動線空間の並置は、様々な住み方に柔軟に対応できる余裕を生み出します。

その一方で、プリント合板やタイル、和室の造作や木部の設えなど既存のキャラクターは残し、建具は再利用する。新規の素材は既存の素材に対する効果を考慮し選定し、取り合いのおさまりは既存に倣う。新しいものと古いものを明確に分けるのではなく、既存の素材に寄り添いながら、全体としてはモンタージュによる新しさを獲得するように、ある意味、場当たり的に関係を取り繕うことを試みました。