Circularity Cabin: A Japanese Home Designed to Be Dismantled and Relocated

In Zushi, Japan, a planned road expansion has led to the creation of the Circularity Cabin, a two-story timber house designed by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture with AREANO. The structure is intended to be dismantled and moved with its residents, as local regulations require buildings in the affected area to be easily removable. The timber frame is assembled with bolts and screws, allowing it to be taken apart by hand and reassembled elsewhere. Standard timber sections from Japanese home centers form most of the structure, ensuring components are small enough to handle without heavy machinery and easy to reuse. The cabin measures roughly 5.7 meters wide and covers 59.62 square meters, with a three-by-three ken grid placing the staircase at the center and a 910-millimeter-wide band along the perimeter for the kitchen and bathroom. The exterior is wrapped in removable sawara cypress boards, extending the reversible construction system to the facade. The design also responds to Zushi's yato topography, with three high sidelights positioned to capture shifting sea breezes, and an open slatted upper floor allows light and air to pass between levels. The house was completed in 2023, with structural engineering by Yasuhirokaneda Structure and construction by Sanbutsu Kensetsu. Photography is by Takuya Seki. The project exemplifies a circular approach to architecture, preparing for a building's eventual departure from its initial site.