An unexpected brief required a house with a fifteen year life span; exactly the number of years the clients had left to live. The architects approached this request with an all but macabre attitude. After all, the client treated death ‘as a matter of fact’ with a romantic twist for what might be revealed after death.

The client found a site on a peninsula facing the East, as he hated the sunset, with a view of the magnificent sea where the sun rises. This is the land he chose to live out his final years. Death was more of a sunrise issue to him. When the final moment came he would face the sea and depart on a ship facing death.

The house was raised 8.6 m so that the waves could be viewed while seated. An anchor placed on the ground level emphasized the client’s wish: to anchor his life before he sailed away from the sea coast flashing towards an unknown shore. The architects were not only designing a house, but were creating the port from which his liberated mind would depart across the ocean. In this context the sea waves became very important. The house opened up to the waves which were captured by its windows, making them part of its interior. The windows were lowered and changed shape following the postures a person assumes when watching the waves. In this way, the inhabitant got to appreciate the different types of waves. The blue wings of a butterfly were designed into the window forms, symbolizing people going to fly in a free manner. ‘V’ shaped walls with slits accentuating the angle of vision, encouraged this game. The windows capture the sun, casting dramatic shadows during the sun rise. The architects have provided hope to their client designing a house where a new ‘beginning’ can be seen every day.

ARCHITECT: Eastern design office.,Inc., Kyoto, Japan, www.eastern.e-arc.jp. AREA: 73 sqm. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING: HOJO STRUCTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE. CONTRACTOR: Daikokukensetsu. PHOTOES: Koichi Torimrua. DATE: 2010. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.