Platinum Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2025
Fuma House
- A' Design Award 2025 Platinum Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Matsuyama Architect and Associates
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 928,148
- Verification code 67CE530F8C · Verify this award
About Fuma House
Fuma is a three-story house in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The site faces a busy railway to the east, so the first-floor east wall is set back, while the second-floor structure and the third-floor eaves block noise, vibration and street views. Gaps between these elements let natural light and outside ambiance reach the interior. The main living space is on the second floor and works like a single-story home. Reinforced concrete load-bearing walls and unbonded cables support cantilevers of 5.6 meters east and 3.2 meters south. Large glazed openings face the courtyard.
Fuma House by Masakatsu Matsuyama stands as a compelling exemplar of contemporary residential architecture that engages profoundly with the expressive potential of reinforced concrete as both structural system and sculptural medium. The work participates in a distinguished lineage of concrete architecture that traces through the spatial poetry of modernist masters while advancing contemporary investigations into material presence, tectonic clarity, and the phenomenological experience of dwelling. The architect demonstrates exceptional command of concrete's plastic possibilities, manipulating board-formed surfaces to reveal subtle textural narratives while orchestrating volumetric masses into a dynamic composition of stacked and cantilevered forms that defy gravitational expectation through engineering virtuosity. The dramatic upper volume, penetrated by a generous rectangular aperture that frames celestial space, transforms the sky itself into an architectural element, creating what might be understood as a secular oculus that invites contemplation of natural phenomena. The integration of subtropical landscape elements establishes a productive dialogue between the geometric rigor of human construction and the organic irregularity of botanical forms, suggesting meditation upon architecture's capacity to mediate between culture and nature. Surface treatments reveal careful attention to the temporal dimension of materials, as the concrete's subtle variations in tone and texture suggest receptivity to weathering and patina that will deepen the structure's character over time. The spatial sequence implied by the visible spiral staircase and shadowed ground-level passages suggests an architectural promenade of carefully calibrated experiential moments. One might consider how this residence embodies the contemporary aspiration to create dwellings that function simultaneously as shelter and as apparatus for heightened perceptual awareness of light, sky, and the passage of time.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The living dining room on the second floor connects to the third-floor theater room via a double-height space. An east-west axis from the first-floor courtyard to the third-floor terrace is connected sectionally, while a north-south axis from the second-floor terrace at the south to the stairwell at the north is integrated into the plan. This interaction between internal and external spaces creates diverse indoor environments. The client's determination to live this area even under these unlivable environments form this architecture which allow to live such open, unusual and tranquil living.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Three-story reinforced concrete structure
Site area: 510.86 square meters
Total floor area: 464.76 square meters
First floor area: 130.70 square meters
Second floor area: 238.40 square meters
Third floor area: 95.66 square meters - Tags
- concrete, cantilever, atrium, planting, massive, open, modern, luxury, like a resort hotel, without curtains
- Production Technology
- The east facade’s first-floor wall was set back from the railway, with complex-profile second floor structures and third-floor eaves blocking noise, vibration, and street views. Gaps between these structures allow natural light and external ambiance into the internal space. Large glazed openings face the courtyard, extending the interior space towards the semi-open external area.
- Design Challenge
- We designed a three-story building with the primary living space on the second floor, where most essential activities could be completed as if it were a single-story dwelling. To support the large second-floor volume, we introduced series of two and three-story high load-bearing walls and applied two unbonded PC cables along the east-west axis to enable a cantilevered structure extending 5.6m east and 3.2m south. The symbolic U-shaped wall also assists the southern cantilever.
- Project Duration
- Design duration: June 2021 – August 2022 (15 months)
Construction duration: September 2022 – January 2024 (17 months)
Location: Fukuoka Prefecture – Japan - Operation Flow
- The homeowner begins each morning on the terrace table with coffee instead of at the dining table. On sunny days, they open the parasol and enjoy the gentle breeze among the plants, signaling the start of the day. Despite nearby trains, they feel no noise or vibrations, enjoying a wonderfully comfortable life. After sunset, they continue their open lifestyle, never closing the curtains. The children fully utilize the layout, running freely indoors and sharing joyful smiles across the atrium.
- Research
- We prioritize interpreting the potential of the land, guiding unique architectural forms and family lives that can only exist in that specific location. Each project involves different land, clients, and conditions, resulting in diverse solutions. In this case, while addressing various harsh environmental factors, we aimed to create an open and enriching living space, leading to a one-of-a-kind architecture that would not be possible in other locations or under different circumstances.
- Inspiration
- The site is in a once-flourishing town during Japan's modernization era, now seemingly deserted. To the east, a busy railway with about 250 trains daily causes constant noise. North of the site, the drinking quarter makes it less than ideal for residential use. Additionally, memories of severe flood damage linger in the minds of long-time residents. Our challenge was to create a rigid structure to address these negative factors and design a comfortable living environment.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Toshihisa Ishii, FU-MA, 2024
Image #2: Photographer Toshihisa Ishii, FU-MA, 2024
Image #3: Photographer Toshihisa Ishii, FU-MA, 2024
Image #4: Photographer Toshihisa Ishii, FU-MA, 2024
Image #5: Photographer Toshihisa Ishii, FU-MA, 2024