House of Wood｜Custom-built homes by architecture firms9Picks｜A Home Embracing the Warmth of Wood

Wood has long been cherished as a material for dwellings for its warm tactile qualities, scent, and the beautiful patina it develops over time. Even within the category of "wooden houses," expressions are diverse. The atmosphere created by wood varies greatly depending on its application — from interior finishes such as solid wood flooring and wooden joinery, to the expression of structural beauty through exposed beams and columns, to dynamic spatial compositions employing CLT (cross‑laminated timber) and large‑section timber members. Architectural firms design timber residences for long‑term, comfortable living by combining the client's desired expression of wood with technical considerations such as species selection, detailing, and connections. Explore these examples of homes where the inherent qualities of the material are quietly present.

A compact dwelling for two located in the eastern part of Otsu City. Beginning from the simple requirement of an integral garage, a distinctive spatial solution was created by carefully interpreting the relationship with the surrounding environment. The plan is an 8.4‑meter square traversed along its diagonal, and a large roof combined with a double‑height void opens broadly to the southeast to admit light and breezes. The symmetrical plan and composed form shape a building that responds to the site context while retaining a steadfast presence.

This is a dwelling designed for a couple engaged in organic farming, harmonizing with nature. It aligns with their lifestyle principles and approach to craftsmanship, aiming to create spaces that gently soothe the fatigue of fieldwork. Natural materials such as solid cedar and diatomaceous-earth plaster are employed, and a fenestration strategy has been adopted to allow occupants to sense seasonal transitions and variations in light. The exterior also emphasizes the texture of wood, permitting enjoyment of the deepening patina over time. Additionally, a high-performance thermal insulation specification and a radiant heating-and-cooling system provide a comfortable indoor environment year-round. It is a serene and abundant residence that reflects the philosophy of natural circulation in the home.

The site fronts a major arterial road, but once inside it is enclosed by trees and conveys a tranquil atmosphere. Taking into account a high‑traffic road to the north and an existing main house to the south, and with careful consideration of the relationship to the existing garden, a single‑storey dwelling was arranged in a bent L‑shape. The entrance is positioned centrally; the living room functions as the core from which the other rooms branch, while the corridor is used as a workspace and secures sightlines and natural ventilation to the north. The building is covered by a large mono‑pitched roof with deep eaves; wood‑clad ceilings that make use of the roof volume, together with white walls, create a gentle, tranquil residential interior.

A residence situated in the scenic conservation district of Ōmiya, connected to tranquil nature. Under a site‑coverage limit of 40%, a simple square planimetric and volumetric composition was employed to create a generous spatial extent. Openings boldly capture the light and breezes passing through the private road to the south and borrow the landscape of the neighboring house. Internally, a skip floor with a 1.5‑storey intermediate level secures floor area and openly links the spaces of differing heights. The spaces, finished in locally sourced Nishikawa cedar, form a beautiful building—underpinned by classical methods—where exterior and interior comfortably meld.

A small music hall planned on a site along the Hokusei Line of the Sangi Railway for a married couple of clarinetists. Located within the grounds of an existing residence, the design secures the maximum possible floor area while achieving a rare timber construction in Japan with a high sound-insulation performance of 50 dB. The acoustic environment was carefully refined to accommodate concerts and music lessons. As a place where people who love music gather to share beautiful tone, it functions as a space that richly connects daily life and culture.

This residence stands on a site facing Sakuramori Park with views toward Mount Rokko. It was planned with the theme of incorporating both the park view and the uninterrupted sightline to the mountain into daily life. Interpreting the constraints of the northern oblique-plane restriction, the composition places the park-facing side lower and the mountain-facing side higher. Three diagonal walls skillfully channel wind and daylight, generating a comfortable airflow throughout the home via double-height voids and staircases. Large windows opening onto the park and apertures that frame Mount Rokko bring the rich landscape into the interior, realizing an expansive living environment that coexists with nature.

Built in a densely packed residential area of Nishi‑ku, Osaka, this project is a two-family dwelling with fully independent units. Set among three-story houses, the design minimizes openings on the street-facing façade and introduces an internal courtyard, from which both the first and second floors draw natural light and cross-ventilation. In response to the owner’s profession working with sound, the second floor incorporates a soundproofed music studio, creating a residence where quiet and sound coexist.

This is a private residence with an attached design atelier. Built on a site once familiar as a walking path, and intended to inherit the memory of a beach landscape cloaked in pine woods, its exterior walls are clad in thick timber. The timber is painted white to add softness, giving the house a presence that quietly blends into the surrounding environment. Internally, changes in floor and ceiling levels gently articulate the atelier, individual/private spaces, and shared areas. Lofts, a roof balcony, planted areas, and staircases create multi-layered spatial extensions between interior and exterior.

On rebuilding a house that had been lived in for many years, we began the design by carefully inheriting the time and memories the family had accumulated. Valuing the materials and artisans’ craftsmanship that have sustained Japanese residential culture—roof tiles, tatami, plasterwork, shōji and fusuma—we have created a living environment that responds to contemporary lifestyles. The comfortable sense of scale provided by traditional Japanese proportions and the warmth of natural materials produce spaces that are gently accommodating to the body. This is a home oriented toward future living, where nostalgia and newness coexist calmly.