Please continue.
Next, let’s talk about B, the HUMbLE_HAT.
humble means modest, and hat means roof. (I thought hut sounded too small, so I went with hat.)
One day while I was out for a walk, I came across a small building with an exceptionally low roofline. It struck me as so modest and charming that I couldn’t forget it.
This design combines that sense of modesty with an environmentally conscious approach.
The word humble means modest, and hat refers to the roof.
I once saw a small building with a very low roofline while walking. It felt so charmingly modest that it stuck in my mind.
This design takes that sense of modesty and combines it with an environmental perspective.
The lot is about 45 tsubo (≈150 m²), which is pretty big for Kagoshima.
The floor area is around 24 tsubo (≈80 m²), so it’s on the compact side overall.
Kagoshima’s more convenient urban land is expensive, so this imagines a location slightly out in the suburbs where the land is more affordable.
On the other hand, the house itself is kept compact, while extending the living space outward.
By expanding outdoor areas, the interior feels more open too. Rather than forcing the indoor space to be bigger, this approach actually creates a more comfortable and spacious atmosphere.
Since urban land in Kagoshima is expensive, I imagine this house being in a more affordable suburban area.
The house is compact, but the outdoor space extends the living area.
This way, you get a sense of openness and comfort without enlarging the indoor floor area.
That sounds like a fun design challenge!
Exactly.
And keeping the building compact lowers both costs and energy needs for heating and cooling.
Oh, there’s a loft space like an attic!
Instead of forcing a full second floor, I used the roof shape to create a loft.
This keeps costs down, and since the period when you need many rooms for family life is limited, kids can use it while they’re home, and later it can become storage or a hobby room.
You could even add simple partitions.
What kind of environmental considerations are there?
First, the outdoor area is left unpaved, with soil and greenery instead of concrete.
This reduces heat storage, keeps away summer heat radiation, and uses the plants’ evaporation to bring cool breezes inside. It’s an old wisdom from traditional homes (*1).
We could also replace concrete blocks with lighter materials and even add a simple irrigation system among the plants to create evaporative cooling.
On top of that, we use solar panels, solar water heaters (*2), and solar walls (*3) to make full use of the sun.
Oh, there’s even a vegetable garden!
Even a small garden helps you feel your life is part of the cycle.
Like the water channel in CIRCULaTOR, it’s a device for creating small joys.
Fruit trees would make that feeling of circulation even stronger.
At first it looks like a normal house, but there’s a lot of thought behind it!
Exactly. It doesn’t need to be extraordinary.
I want to envision a new kind of ordinary life.
That’s it for now—next time, I’ll talk about URBAN_EcO.
This design is based on the “Low-Profile House” that won first place (61 votes out of 616) in the Residential Model Exhibition held when Onoken first became independent.
It wasn’t originally focused on nature, but maybe its modest appearance resonated with people.
This version makes it a bit more compact while strengthening its connection with the environment.