LATEST

Related Posts

Kengo Kuma’s New Portland-Area Home Is a Straight-Up Stunner

Architecture & Design
Anyi Wong-Lifton
Author: Anyi Wong-Lifton
6 min.read
1Kengo Kuma's "SUTEKI" house
Visitors will notice upon first glance that the house glows outside and in—an effect that makes it appear to be light and floating.
Visitors will notice upon first glance that the house glows outside and in—an effect that makes it appear to be light and floating.
2
3
4
5
6
While entrances to American homes are often straightforward, Kuma took a more Japanese approach by incorporating turns into the path from the street and through a small garden to the front door.
While entrances to American homes are often straightforward, Kuma took a more Japanese approach by incorporating turns into the path from the street and through a small garden to the front door.
7
While entrances to American homes are often straightforward, Kuma took a more Japanese approach by incorporating turns into the path from the street and through a small garden to the front door.
While entrances to American homes are often straightforward, Kuma took a more Japanese approach by incorporating turns into the path from the street and through a small garden to the front door.
8
9
10
The rooms’ sizes and ceiling levels vary to create a diversity of spaces within a simple L-shape layout. The Olympia Wall between the great room and main entrance is not only made of sustainably harvested Japanese cedar, but Kuma says its overlapping panel pattern is also reminiscent of details on the stadium he’s designing for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics.
The rooms’ sizes and ceiling levels vary to create a diversity of spaces within a simple L-shape layout. The Olympia Wall between the great room and main entrance is not only made of sustainably harvested Japanese cedar, but Kuma says its overlapping panel pattern is also reminiscent of details on the stadium he’s designing for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics.
11
The rooms’ sizes and ceiling levels vary to create a diversity of spaces within a simple L-shape layout. The Olympia Wall between the great room and main entrance is not only made of sustainably harvested Japanese cedar, but Kuma says its overlapping panel pattern is also reminiscent of details on the stadium he’s designing for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics.
The rooms’ sizes and ceiling levels vary to create a diversity of spaces within a simple L-shape layout. The Olympia Wall between the great room and main entrance is not only made of sustainably harvested Japanese cedar, but Kuma says its overlapping panel pattern is also reminiscent of details on the stadium he’s designing for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics.
12
The 10-foot-by-6-foot, 600-pound entrance door is made of wood imported from Japan with a traditional “waving wood” pattern that’s also incorporated into an upstairs wall. “At the entrance people can see…this is the spirit of the house,” Kuma says.
The 10-foot-by-6-foot, 600-pound entrance door is made of wood imported from Japan with a traditional “waving wood” pattern that’s also incorporated into an upstairs wall. “At the entrance people can see…this is the spirit of the house,” Kuma says.
13
The 10-foot-by-6-foot, 600-pound entrance door is made of wood imported from Japan with a traditional “waving wood” pattern that’s also incorporated into an upstairs wall. “At the entrance people can see…this is the spirit of the house,” Kuma says.
The 10-foot-by-6-foot, 600-pound entrance door is made of wood imported from Japan with a traditional “waving wood” pattern that’s also incorporated into an upstairs wall. “At the entrance people can see…this is the spirit of the house,” Kuma says.
14
15
16
17
18
This transition space is typical of historic Japanese homes. The louvres made of Alaskan Yellow Cedar, like those on the exterior of the home, create shadows, which Kuma says are important to Japanese residences.
This transition space is typical of historic Japanese homes. The louvres made of Alaskan Yellow Cedar, like those on the exterior of the home, create shadows, which Kuma says are important to Japanese residences.
19
This transition space is typical of historic Japanese homes. The louvres made of Alaskan Yellow Cedar, like those on the exterior of the home, create shadows, which Kuma says are important to Japanese residences.
This transition space is typical of historic Japanese homes. The louvres made of Alaskan Yellow Cedar, like those on the exterior of the home, create shadows, which Kuma says are important to Japanese residences.
20
21
22
Many elements in the house, including these stairs, the roof, kitchen counters, and bedroom shelves, are beveled to create the thinnest edges possible. It was a challenge to the builders, since thickness is needed for structural integrity, but also adds to the light feeling of the home.
Many elements in the house, including these stairs, the roof, kitchen counters, and bedroom shelves, are beveled to create the thinnest edges possible. It was a challenge to the builders, since thickness is needed for structural integrity, but also adds to the light feeling of the home.
23
Many elements in the house, including these stairs, the roof, kitchen counters, and bedroom shelves, are beveled to create the thinnest edges possible. It was a challenge to the builders, since thickness is needed for structural integrity, but also adds to the light feeling of the home.
Many elements in the house, including these stairs, the roof, kitchen counters, and bedroom shelves, are beveled to create the thinnest edges possible. It was a challenge to the builders, since thickness is needed for structural integrity, but also adds to the light feeling of the home.
24
Kuma realizes that most American homes, and especially sleeping spaces, are designed for privacy, but he wanted even the master bedroom to be a seamless public-private space with floor to ceiling windows. “There’s basically one big open space that people can enjoy as a family life without any separation,” he says.
Kuma realizes that most American homes, and especially sleeping spaces, are designed for privacy, but he wanted even the master bedroom to be a seamless public-private space with floor to ceiling windows. “There’s basically one big open space that people can enjoy as a family life without any separation,” he says.
25
Kuma realizes that most American homes, and especially sleeping spaces, are designed for privacy, but he wanted even the master bedroom to be a seamless public-private space with floor to ceiling windows. “There’s basically one big open space that people can enjoy as a family life without any separation,” he says.
Kuma realizes that most American homes, and especially sleeping spaces, are designed for privacy, but he wanted even the master bedroom to be a seamless public-private space with floor to ceiling windows. “There’s basically one big open space that people can enjoy as a family life without any separation,” he says.
26Kengo Kuma's "SUTEKI" house
Visitors will notice upon first glance that the house glows outside and in—an effect that makes it appear to be light and floating.
Visitors will notice upon first glance that the house glows outside and in—an effect that makes it appear to be light and floating.

Admirers of the Japanese Garden’s new Cultural Village: you may have a chance to live in a home designed by its internationally renowned architect Kengo Kuma.

Partnering with Japanese home designer Suteki, Kuma built a 4,739-square-foot home, called SUTEKI, which translates to “natural,” “comfortable,” or a sense of excellence. Constructed for Happy Valley’s Street of Dreams event this summer, the home’s standout design is meant to showcase a cross-cultural collaboration by combining elements of traditional Japanese design principles and the contemporary Pacific Northwest lifestyle.

A goal of the house is to “[strike] a balance between happiness and sustainability,” says Koichiro Hirata, group CEO of Nice Corperation, the international real estate, construction, and housing material distribution company of which Suteki is a subsidiary. Suteki chose the Portland area as the location for its first residential space because of the Hirata family’s decades-long connection to the city (namely its lumber industry), and, Hirata says, his admiration of Portland’s model of sustainability.

For Kuma, a seamless relationship between indoor and outdoor space was of paramount importance for SUTEKI’s design. Windows that meet in the corners of the kitchen, master bedroom, and second-floor family space promote this principle by sliding apart to open the end of the interior room to the outside. Exterior posts holding up the eaves are offset slightly from the corners, creating an unobstructed view between home and nature.

“In [a] typical Japanese house,” Kuma says, “every corner is open like that. If the window is just open on one side it is two-dimensional, but if we open [both sides] it is three-dimensional openness.”

Overall, the Alaskan Yellow Cedar louvres that line its street-facing exterior walls make SUTEKI stand out from its suburban neighbors. Its L-shape hugs the triangular plot it’s built on, which overlooks a creek.

“This site is amazing,” Kuma recalls thinking when he first saw the property. It also reminded the Japanese architect of his favorite house, Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater. “For this house I tried to create a 21st-century version of Fallingwater.”

Sadafumi Uchiyama, the Japanese Garden’s curator, served as SUTEKI’s landscape architect. His work is showcased by the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up most of the walls on the house’s creek facing side—yet another representation of seamlessness.

Kuma’s favorite element of the house is the engawa, a continuous wooden deck that lines the windowed side of the house. He calls it an “in-between” space because it is completely covered by the deep eaves, which means SUTEKI’s future occupants can sit comfortably on plush couches even throughout Portland’s famously rainy weather. An element of traditional Japanese homes that Kuma says has been lost since the invention of air conditioning and Tokyo’s increasing density, the engawa promotes a much-needed outdoor living model.

SUTEKI is only Kuma’s second home in North America—he rarely builds residential spaces anywhere—but it’s now his third building in the Portland area (others being the Cultural Village and Chef Naoko, the downtown restaurant that got a makeover from Kuma earlier this year), and he already has plans to return. Hirata announced this month that Suteki plans to join forces with Kuma again to build a second home for next summer’s Street of Dreams in South Hillsboro.

“We have been working with Portland for many years… For me this house is very important because I love [the city] and I think [it] is a really beautiful city,” Kuma says. “I like the atmosphere of Portland. It is very different from other American cities…In Portland we can feel the intimacy, and also the city is very generous to the multicultural example.”

Suteki, meanwhile, plans to build more everyday adaptions of the SUTEKI home in Happy Valley and Hillsboro in upcoming months.




Previous article
20 Shows You Can’t Miss in Portland in Fall 2017
20 Shows You Can’t Miss in Portland in Fall 2017
Next article
Will a 200-Mile Trail Come to the Columbia River Gorge?
Will a 200-Mile Trail Come to the Columbia River Gorge?
Anyi Wong-Lifton
Anyi Wong-Lifton