House in the Forest
This project begins with close to three hectares of barely touched forest. Only a short distance from Niseko?s ski slopes, the silence here is the antithesis of the vacation bustle that has turned several of the renown ski area?s towns into a haphazard sprawl of increasingly suburban dimensions.
Solitude – Enchanted by the beauty of the region but disturbed by this relentlessly encroaching pseudo-suburbia, the owners, a large family, are seeking escape in the forest?s solitude. Consequentially, the brief is not for a house but for a time in and with the forest.
Courtesy of Florian Bush Architects
Trees – The site is an almost perfect square with 160-metre-long edges, filled with tall pine trees. As we approach, a mound prevents any views into the site: The only access, a small rural road running along the northern boundary, was lowered many years ago. After we climb up this mound, we stand between the trees. A gentle slope leads down towards the south for about 100 meters before the top of a steep acclivity demarcates the site?s southern border. About half-way in, there?s a clearing at the site?s western boundary. Courtesy of Florian Bush Architects
Instinct – Moving between the trees evokes curiosity. We are probing the surroundings. Every subtle movement changes the depth of our perception. The clearing that we have discovered is the site?s only place where the distance turns the trees into an abstract background. Yet instead of placi...