Enter-Archi's House in Yakami Features Broken-Pitch Roof in Shimane Prefecture

Key facts

• House in Yakami is a one-storey timber-framed house in Yakami, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, designed by Japanese studio Enter-Archi.
• The home is arranged as three connected volumes with courtyards in between: a front covered parking space, a middle open-plan living, kitchen and dining room, and a rear volume with three bedrooms.
• A broken-pitch roof spans the three sections; its gentler upper pitch is set at a two-in-ten angle to keep roof height low and maintain mountain views, while the steeper lower pitch echoes neighbouring Sekishu-tile roofs and helps prevent snow build-up.
• The house uses a traditional Japanese timber post-and-beam system with exposed columns, beams and rafters.
• Finishes include metal roofing, cedar cladding on the exterior and plywood walls in the interior.
• Enter-Archi founder Yoshikatsu Iriguchi said the low roof height draws interior views towards the sky and mountains, and ceiling heights in the living, dining and kitchen space were adjusted for bodily scale while maintaining openness.
• Project credits: Enter-Archi (architect), Inoshita Kenchiku (construction), Umezawa Structural Engineers (structural engineer).
• Photography is by Yoshikatsu Iriguchi; related recent Japanese projects include Keiji Ashizawa Design's angular cedar-clad home and YNAS's updated traditional timber house with timber-framed canopies.