Daisen Work Hut is a minimal space located in Tottori, Japan, designed by Niimori Jamison. The site is a peaceful mountainous area located on the hillside of Daisen in Tottori prefecture. The surrounding area is rich in nature with fields and associated huts and villas. I planned a work hut in such a place. A survey of gable-roofed huts around the site revealed that many buildings had deteriorated exterior surfaces, especially roofs, due to snowfall in winter. This area is a heavy snowfall area where nearly 1 m of snow is observed in winter, and although construction started in November for this project, the site stopped immediately due to snow, and construction did not proceed at all for about four months thereafter.

Under such circumstances, it was not difficult to imagine the effect of snow on the roofs of the surrounding huts. In addition, since it was unclear whether regular maintenance would be carried out in terms of operation, we aimed for a tough building with as high durability as possible. In preparation for snowfall, the floor slab was lifted 1.1-1.4 m above the ground surface and backfilled with excavated soil to keep costs down. Each corner was wrapped with thick sheet metal and carefully protected to withstand the harsh wind and rain of Oyama. In addition, the roof has a slope of 10 inches so that it can instantly fall on the slope of the boundary with the front road when it snows, and the eaves and the position of the building are adjusted.

The appearance of this eaves has a great influence on the internal space, and at the same time as cutting the electric wire running over the front road from the view of the indoor side, the natural green that is reserved on the back is trimmed. The LGS installed at regular intervals on one side of the exposed ceiling surface of the frame illuminates the hut, which tends to be dark, slightly brightly with the bounce from the outside light. In addition, the color of LGS changes subtly depending on the color tone of sunlight, so you can feel the flow of the day while staying indoors, in combination with the scenery through the window.

Photography by Yosuke Ohtake