CULTIVATION VILLA

A short stay villa for an elderly couple for rice farming. The client is a couple of retired part-time farmer still growning vegitables for them selves in small quantities. This project is for the client to keep enjoying what they do, and to enrich the time taking care of their farm.
The site is located in an area surrounded by tea plantations in Hioki city Kagoshima Pref of Japan. The site was also originally owned by the couple for them to farm. We designed a simple circular structure with minimum size farm land in the center needed for their annual rice consumption. Surrounding the farm land in the center, the storage, a place for threshing, parking space for the tractor, a terrace, bedroom and kitchen space for the couples short-stay was placed. The site originally had a 60cm height difference running through the middle of the land, but without leveling it we have used that character to create a terraced rice field scene. The simple structure consists of reinforced-concrete and eight pillars with cantilevered roofs stretching outwards. A side of the V-shaped roofs is equipped with solar panels to generate enough electricity needed for the rice field. Also a sustainable water preservation system was made where the rain gathered in the center of the roof is sent to the two tanks located underground, kept for farming and living purposes.
Cultivating land, seeding rice, growing them, and harvesting. By taking in the rice field scenery (which is not a familiar architectural element) into the design itself, we have aimed for an efficient flow line for farming while maintaining space for the couple to feel the richness of the time-flowing through their rice field.