Denizen Works Onomichi House: Enigmatic Japanese Residence in Narrow Site

A private sanctuary on the coast

The house sits on the edge of the Seto Inland Sea. The site’s panoramas are leveraged through deliberate spatial planning.

The street-facing façade is almost entirely blank, with a single covered entrance. This injects an enigmatic quality and a strong sense of privacy.

This quiet street presence is deliberate. The residence is conceived as a smoky memory of traditional arrangements, allowing the coastal site to dictate a calm, inward experience.

Concept: Omoya and Hanare as a contemporary interpretation of tradition

Director Murray Kerr explains that the design references traditional Japanese house organization. Omoya (main house) and Hanare (annexe) are used as a framework to separate living and working functions while enhancing enclosure.

The outcome is a modern reinterpretation that maintains cultural resonance while addressing contemporary needs. The home accommodates both private living and working life after relocation from London.

Plan, volumes and spatial strategy

The plan unfolds as a two-storey main block containing the one-bedroom home. This is extended by a single-storey studio that partially encloses a small garden and is accessed via a covered entrance walkway.

Internally, the ground floor houses the bedroom and bathroom. The entire upper level is an open-plan kitchen and dining area.

Windows are arranged at varying heights to frame sea views for people seated at different levels. This ensures daylight and vistas are experienced from multiple vantage points.

Key architectural moves and spatial articulation

• Two-storey main block and single-storey studio extension that encloses a private garden
• Open-plan upper level designed for living and dining with adaptive framing of external views
• Entrances and corridors that emphasize enclosure and controlled permeability
• Separation of living and working zones to support a calm domestic atmosphere

Materials and construction language

The project uses a fusion of British domestic proportions with Japanese timber-frame construction. A tatami-based structural logic informs the module system.

Vertical Yakisugi burnt-timber cladding unifies the building envelope and strengthens the sense of material continuity with the coast. The material palette—charred timber on the exterior and warm interior timber elements—creates a quiet but expressive statement.

Construction partners and technical depth

Denizen Works collaborated with Hiroshima-based Takearchitects, who led many construction details on site. The team also involved structural engineer Satoshi Horie and contractor Daiwa Kensetsu to ensure the project’s technical integrity.

Photography by Yano Toshiyuki documents the project, capturing both the material richness and the understated elegance of the residence.

Reception and broader significance

Kerr notes that the building has been embraced by the local community. This signals a successful integration of foreign design language into a Japanese coastal setting.

The House in Onomichi showcases Denizen Works’ ongoing exploration of sculptural, experience-driven domestic architecture. This approach prioritizes privacy, atmosphere, and place over conspicuous display.

It demonstrates how a contemporary, globally informed studio can reinterpret tradition to meet modern living. This is achieved without compromising the integrity of the site or its cultural context.

Takeaways for designers:
– Privacy-first planning can be achieved through deliberate massing and blank street façades. These are complemented by controlled entrances.
– Cross-cultural collaboration can yield a refined synthesis of materials and construction methods. This produces a coherent architectural language in a new geography.
– Material expression—Yakisugi cladding and tatami-informed modules—offers a tactile, durable, and visually cohesive answer to coastal resilience and domestic comfort.

 
Here is the source article for this story: Denizen Works designs Japanese house with “enigmatic quality”