The client, Y, wished for a home that could accommodate about twenty friends. Choosing to establish the residence on the site where her grandmother's house once stood reflected a deep attachment to the place where she was born and raised. For Y—whose primary activities are based in Tokyo—there was also a desire for friends and colleagues to visit the hometown, to appreciate the merits of Ibaraki, and to contribute to the local community.
Y places great value on encounters with a variety of people: the discoveries and joy that come from new meetings. Initially the brief called for a house where twenty people could gather to talk and play, but, almost unintentionally, her hobby of collecting plants blossomed.
Y’s way of life introduced a new character to the house. The manner in which vegetation moves organically through the interior is precisely what gives this project its identity as the "Botanical House."
