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The Circus - Treasured time with cars hidden away in a secret hideout

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Treasured time with cars hidden away in a secret hideout

Chiba, Japan

CUBO design architect

  • Type: Vacation House
  • Total floor area: 312.49 sq. meter
  • Design: Architectural
  • Structure: Wooden

“Spending time with cars” is the concept behind this vacation house intended as a fun retreat for a car-loving client and friends. In contrast to a typical house with a built-in garage, the aim here was to blur the boundaries between people, cars, and rooms in a relaxed environment.

The client’s desire for a house that could easily and flexibly be used in various ways gave rise to the circular plan. Because the design has no dead-ends and allows people and cars to move freely throughout the first story, it accommodates many layouts while providing an extreme version of the “impracticality” often sought in vacation homes.

Inspired by a circus tent, the simple but bold structure is made up of a large 24-sided volume and an independent volume inside shaped like a large, round table that forms the second story. The core that supports the tent has no posts, but instead maintains its tension through slanted outer walls.

The structure uses conventional construction materials to keep costs low, while advanced precut timber technology and precision steel hardware manufacturing technology enable the unusual form. The first story is a “garage living” space shared by people and cars, with functionality concentrated in the core and outer rim. The second story is a private space containing the owner’s bedroom and a central jacuzzi with a waterfall shower.

Viewed from below, the frame of the house evokes an open paper umbrella, an intentional reference to Japanese design. The client has a playful personality and suggested many fun ideas that we incorporated throughout the house, and on weekends it is filled with car-loving friends. Like a grown-up version of the secret hideouts we built on empty lots as children, the project was as much fun to design as it is to inhabit.

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus

Photo: ©Koji Fujii / TOREAL

The Circus
  • Ground floor

    The Circus - Ground floor thumbnail
  • Second floor

    The Circus - Second floor thumbnail
  • Cross section

    The Circus - Cross section thumbnail
  • North elevation

    The Circus - North elevation thumbnail
  • South elevation

    The Circus - South elevation thumbnail
Type Vacation House
Design Architectural
Location Chiba, Japan
Structure Wooden
Completion 2022
Construction period 1 year and 6 months
Site area 988.97 sq. meter
Building area 280.37 sq. meter
Total floor area 312.49 sq. meter
Construction Ko-gei Co.,Ltd.

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