Loftylovin

A House Awaiting Death

This house on the outskirts of Ise, Japan is by architects EASTERN design office and has been raised on a concrete block to afford views of the sea. 

A House Awaiting Death is a concrete construction and sits 8.6 metres above sea level, looking east over a breakwater.

The facade is is punctuated by a row of irregularly shaped windows, positioned higher or lower in the wall depending on where the client intends to sit and stand.

The interior has wooden floors and ceilings, and is divided by a V-shaped partition.

The internal walls are punctuated by slits that line up with external windows.

Photographs are by Koichi Torimrua.

Here’s some more from the architect:

“I will die in 15 years. It will be a house awaiting that death. The building is fine as long as it lasts 15 years. Something small would be good.”

“I have found the place.” A patch of land on a peninsula facing East. “I’m glad the land faces East. I hate the sunset.”

“When I die it won’t be sunset, it will be sunrise. When the final moment comes, I will face the sea and depart on a ship flashing towards death. It’ll be a time revealed after death.”

This is what the client ordered for his house. A view of the magnificent sea in the east where the sun rises.

This is the land he chose to live out his final years. The portion of the sea we have captured encompasses the peninsula that appears on both sides of the site.

A four-meter wide gravel and dirt road runs in front of the site. On the other side of the road is a park-golf course where several elderly neighbors enjoy their leisure time.

There is a seashore behind the breakwater wall. If this were a standard house the sea would barely be visible from the site.