Shade
Shade is a house built in a dense residential area in Iwakuni, Japan. A tall wall and a lower wall were placed along the neighbouring boundary to block direct views, and each wall was folded over to form a roof that shelters the living space. The dining room sits one metre below the entrance, with a low ceiling and soft light. The living room is one metre higher, with a high ceiling and a large opening. The change in scale guides attention to the sky between the two roofs. The buried lower part is concrete, while the upper structure is wood.
Shade House by Satoshi Fujinaka was selected as an outstanding example of architectural design by the A' Design Awards. Shade House received the Bronze A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design in 2024. The A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award is an international, jury-voted, fair and ethical design accolade which honors superior design of skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions, religious structures, infrastructure designs, landscaping projects and more.
