WORKS

WORKS

FREIHEIT FREIHEIT

Nagoya City in Aichi Prefecture is where the cultures of Japan's East and West meet. Nagoya City has developed in its own unique way, attracting a variety of people and goods. Among these, Tokushige, Midori-ku, has seen remarkable development in recent years. FREIHEIT was built on this land with easy access to the city center and abundant greenery.

FREIHEIT was designed and built based on the concept of "design and materials that will make families who will live here 100 years from now want to continue to live here. Even if the house is durable enough to withstand 100 years, it is not enough that it is strong enough to be handed down from generation to generation. A house takes on life when it is inhabited, and it is only when the inhabitants have the desire to live in it that it can be passed on to future generations. We have found the answer in a design that is not influenced by trends, and in the use of materials whose textures become more beautiful and deeper with age.

The exterior of the building must be permanent so that it can be accepted in any age, and it must have a sense of simplicity, strength, and stability. The openings in the front of the building symbolize these qualities. The natural slate used for the roof and exterior walls has the texture of a rock that is hundreds of millions of years old and is truly permanent.
The flooring material is Afzelia, which is native to South Africa. This solid wood, with little warping, splitting, or cracking, is pleasant to the touch and suitable for barefoot walking. Since ancient times, humans have lived by nature's bounty, and the excitement we feel for natural objects is universal and permanent.
The comforting elements of natural materials, such as "beauty," "peace of mind," and "calmness," support us in our healthy daily lives, and the benefits of these elements are becoming greater and greater as time goes by. The benefits of natural materials will continue to grow as time goes by.

The name "FREIHEIT" (German for "freedom") was chosen with the hope that the house could be freely customized. Therefore, the floor plan was designed to be as flexible as possible without specifying the family structure, and the boundaries between rooms were made ambiguous to create a sense of spatial "openness.

A house to be inherited for a long time inevitably plays a role as a cornerstone of urban development. FREIHEIT is a new approach to urban development for the future in Japan, where the era of mass production has come to an end. FREIHEIT is a proposal for a new awareness toward the future of urban development in Japan, where the era of mass production has come to an end.

DATA

  • Completion 2015.09
  • Building site Nagoya City, Aichi
  • Principal use private residence
  • Structure Wooden 2 stories
  • Photo Nacasa & Partners

AWORD

  • 2015 グッドデザイン賞 受賞