敷地は熊本県の小さな温泉街。良質の温泉をもつこの土地はかつて宿場町として栄えたが、現在は九州自動車道・国道が縦断する、熊本市北部のベッドタウン。敷地周辺は合志川が流れ、緑溢れるのどかな田舎。その場所に地元の工務店が200～250㎡程度に分割した土地を24区画つくり、「温泉付住宅団地」として建築条件付住宅地を売り出した、その「３号地」が本敷地となる。 この同じマスが連なる「住宅団地」というありふれた敷地条件から、この土地における普遍性を見つけられないものかと考えた。そこで、全面道路に面して平入の切妻屋根をかけ、同様の形式が連続することを前提とした町屋の１断片としてこの住戸を位置づけた。東面には全面に縁側を配置し、夏には合志川から上がる花火を見ながら納涼を楽しむことができるように大きく間口を開いた。また部屋を仕切る障子、また内外を仕切る木建具を全面引き込みにすることで、東西方向に抜ける内外連続性を生み出した。こららは24区画どの敷地も持つ住宅団地のポテンシャルであり、それを素直に享受した。 かつての宿場町のような街並みが生まれることを期待している。

The site is located in a small hot spring town in Kumamoto Prefecture. Blessed with high-quality hot springs, this area once prospered as a post town, but today it functions more as a suburban bedroom community in the northern part of Kumamoto City, intersected by the Kyushu Expressway and National Route. The surroundings are rural and calm, with the Kōshi River flowing nearby and greenery all around.

Here, a local construction company divided the land into 24 plots of about 200–250 m² each and began selling them as a “residential subdivision with hot spring access,” with building conditions attached. The site in question is Plot No. 3 of this subdivision.

Within the ordinary condition of a “housing subdivision” composed of identical rectangular plots, I sought to discover a sense of universality unique to this land. The house was therefore positioned as one fragment of a continuous row of machiya style townhouses, oriented with a gable roof facing the street, assuming that similar forms would be repeated along the road.

On the eastern side, a wide veranda (engawa) runs along the facade, with large openings that allow residents to enjoy the summer fireworks rising over the Kōshi River. Inside, sliding shoji partitions and wooden fittings separating interior and exterior can be fully retracted, creating a continuity between the interior and exterior that runs east to west.

These qualities represent the potential shared by all 24 plots of the subdivision, an opportunity simply to be embraced. The hope is that, in time, a streetscape reminiscent of the old post town will naturally emerge.