KGM2 House / Micelle

Architects: micelle
Area: 81 m²
Year: 2022
Photographs: Lemmart
Lead Architect: Katada Tomoki
Collaborators: Jiku Kenchiku Kobo
City: Fukuoka
Country: Japan

KGM2 House, by micelle, transforms a residence on a dark, north-facing slope into a ceramics workshop and home, designed as a ‘fortress-like hut’ to protect against external disruptions like noise and glare. The concept uses a selective membrane with a swastika-like layout and transparent corrugated sheets that manage light and air, similar to a cell membrane. High windows connect ventilated roofs and walls to the interior, allowing natural ventilation. The house’s 22.5° rotation optimizes light while shading harsh sun, with light diffused through frosted glass. Openings are concentrated at the corners, eliminating typical windows, enhancing airflow, and redefining the home’s form with its unique, selectively permeable facade.

The project aims to transform a residence on a dark, north-facing slope into a ceramics workshop housed in a hut. In response to the client’s desire for a ‘fortress-like hut’ that shields his work and living space from external disturbances—such as noise, glare, reflections, thermal challenges, and unwanted visitors—the design concept focuses on a membrane that selectively filters elements from the outside environment.

The design utilizes a single-flow system that captures high sidelights from the controlled light environment, paired with another single-flow that rotates in a swastika-like pattern, resembling a windmill. Transparent corrugated sheets, akin to greenhouse coverings, were used to enclose the gaps between these flows, creating nodes that manage light and air conditions. These gaps act as selectively permeable spaces, much like a cell membrane, allowing specific environmental factors to enter while regulating the internal atmosphere.

High windows link the ventilation space between the roof/exterior wall and the interior, enabling light to enter while also serving as a central hub for airflow and heat removal from the exterior wall to the interior. This setup allows for both passive and active conditioning of the exterior and interior environments, using displacement ventilation, gravity ventilation, natural airflow driven by wind pressure differences, and a ventilation fan at the top.

The building’s plan is rotated 22.5° from east to north, creating a level difference with neighboring structures. This orientation captures morning and evening sunlight with varying color temperatures, while effectively shading the interior from harsh afternoon light. Sunlight enters through specialized 3′ transparent corrugated sheets via high window openings and is then diffused through frosted glass on the sloping windows. This setup allows light to be selectively filtered into the space through the high windows.

Additionally, the floor plan follows a diagonal line that diverges from the structural segmentation, creating a complex yet elemental interior space. This design allows for multiple activities within a microtopographic environment that blends different zones, optimizing locations for various uses. The space is arranged to capture strong incoming light softened by the surrounding interior, enhancing the overall atmosphere.

The design eliminates windows on the walls, instead focusing openings at the four corners of the notched perimeter. This results in large, unbroken wall surfaces that create a ventilation ring through pressure differences generated by the vertical sliding windows and the gouged shapes, reminiscent of lacunas used to ward off demons in Kyoto. This layout produces a calm and tranquil space, with expansive walls that permit airflow and reflect both light and artwork.

By avoiding traditional symbolic windows, the facade removes unnecessary exterior openings that can be visually jarring. In a Japanese cityscape often characterized by closed curtains, the design’s organic membrane and unique exterior form propose a new interpretation of a ‘house,’ where the role of light and the symbolism of home are redefined through the structure’s organic qualities. This approach suggests a new kind of dwelling, where light and form merge into an innovative vision of living space.

Though the design appears reserved and symbolic, it was inspired by the concept of organic membranes with selective permeability, akin to clothing equipped with fans and heaters, and analogous to internal systems like digestive organs (inner eyes) and sensory organs (outer eyes).