Fushi

"Fushi" is an auberge limited to one group per day, nestled deep in the Akigawa Valley on the western edge of Tokyo. The building overlooks the confluence of the Akigawa and Bonbori Rivers. To the west is Mount Joyama, a natural mountain fortress carved by clear streams. The site has a unique landscape that could not be achieved by human power. The auberge is found by a family that has been running Kaiseki-Ryori - Traditional Multi-course meals restaurants for over half a century . The building is basically made of timber-works, but the eave held in place by a steel-framed structure, carefully designed with highly skilled modern engineering. It is a natural form that seeks the wisdom of living in the climate and culture of the Akigawa Valley. A heroic roof is sensibly integrated into the site. It rises 1.5metres from the floor, designed to the eye level of average Japanese. The eave spans 33metres horizontally without pillars. It invites one to look toward the remarkably clear water stream with one-of-a-kind stone arrangements that can only be achieved by a million years of river erosion. The scenery of the Akigawa Valley unfolded in front of one’s eye like a painting scroll. `Outdoor Living` is found as the heart of the building. It is an expansive outdoor deck covered with deep and low eaves, with a scroll of the Akigawa Valley landscape in front, the bamboo grove courtyard in the background and gentle breeze flowing through the building - fully embodying the essence of the site. Hence, the auberge is named - `Fushi` ( Figure of Wind ), borrowed from Noh Master - Zeami Motokiyo`s text - Fushikaden "The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style". This place can also be a Noh stage too, without wall or pillar to define its boundaries. It changes its `setting` according to the seasons. Rain and snow also become part of the atmosphere too. The walls are made of over 20 thousand cedar wood strips sized 19mm, aligned in parallel with a one-millimeter gap between them. The exterior walls are made vertically in the direction of the rain fall; the interior walls are made horizontally in the direction of the breeze flow. Not a single nail is visible from the surface. There are two original Fusuma paintings on two sides of a sliding screen, named `Dawn` and `Evening`. Dawn is the faint glow of the moment before the sun rises, while `Evening` is tinted with the foreboding hues of the moment before the night falls. Recent discussions of architecture have shifted from thinking of architecture as an 'object' to an 'experience'. However, the history of architecture is about as long as the history of mankind, it is impossible to explain the qualities of architecture through experience and theory alone. This project reveals the intangible elements of architecture, realising the balance between experiential satisfaction and physical integrity. Experience of beauty and sublimity of architecture permeated the cuisines, ceramics, flowers, Noh and gardens as a whole.