This modern residence by Hironaka Ogawa & Associates is a renovation project that was created in 2012 for a client in Kagawa , Japan. The concept was very clever : A pair of trees with sentimental value that were growing on the property proved to be an obstacle to the expansion of the existing house. Therefore, the architect decided to re-purpose them as a focal point in the new structure.
According to the architects: “These trees looked over the family for thirty-five years. The daughter has memories of climbing these trees when she was little. Therefore, utilizing these trees and creating a new place for the client became the main theme for the design. In detail, I cut thetwo trees with their branches intact. Then I reduced the water content by smoking and drying them for two weeks. Thereafter, I placed the trees where they used to stand and used them as main structural columns in the center of the living room, dining room, and kitchen.”
