From the architects’ website:

‘Exterior from oriented
The site is on a hill at the foot of Yatsugatake and there are rice fields in front. This is a simple building includes a large atelier space and a small villa for the client who is a calligrapher.
The client asked a roof top for a view of rice fields and no need for removing snow from the roof. This building tries to solve those requirements by its form.
If the interior experience are defined by the form of walls and ceiling, it may be applied to the relationship between the outside and the building exterior form.
Thus, is it possible to design outside by manipulating the exterior design of the building? And as the result of that, the building could be connected with the outside exceeding its actual size. Those interests are starting point of the design.
Sided volume to the north is overhanging to the view of the rice fields. Standing at the top will lead to hold to be in communion with the view as scene in the movie “Titanic”.
The tilted form also works as the eaves for the north entry and the client doesn’t need to remove the snow in the winter. It is deeply covered with snow in this area, but the heat of the sunlight gained on the north wall melt the snow on the flat roof and make the building maintenance-free for snow.’

Completed in December 2004.

More pictures: www.kkas.net