77 | 10

In the last few years, ShuheiEndo’s experiments withgalvanized corrugated steel havebecome world-renowned. Herealized that the very cheapmaterial, commonly used only inindustrial and agriculturalbuildings, could have many moreapplications when its stiffness isincreased by bending and curvingit at right angles to thecorrugations. Buildings like thebicycle sheds at Sakai railwaystation (AR April 1997) and thelittle building in the park in HyogoPrefecture (AR October 1998)resulted, showing how corrugated

metal could suddenly become animpressive substance, adoptingnew and dramatic forms that canenclose flowing silvery spaces.

The new house and studio in asuburb of Biwa-cho in the ShigaPrefecture takes the developmentrather further than earlierexperiments. It is fundamentally asingle continuous strip ofcorrugated metal bent to encloseall the internal spaces of thebuilding, and some of the externalones too. The wide metal ribbonslides and writhes sideways, eastto west, in flattened coils startingwith the garage, then defining apartly covered outside platform,thereafter soaring up to make adouble-height gallery, descendingto kiss a pool and finally returningto the ground to define thebedroom. The spaces it defines

are pinned and connected by along axial route that runswestward from the main entranceand garage through the double-height space, past a comparativelyconventional terrace (which isdefined to the west by the glazedwall of the poolside kitchen/diningroom) and ending with thebedroom in the south-westcorner of the site.

The metal ribbon is not pierced,so all daylight comes from glazingon the east and west flanks. Bysetting the entrance back from theaccess road on the east side of thesite behind the garage and themetal terrace, the house isensured a good deal of privacy,which is enhanced by theimperforate metal walls thatprevent overlooking from closeneighbours on the tight suburban

ATELIER AND HOUSE, BIWA-CHO, SHIGA PREFECTURE,JAPAN

ARCHITECT

SHUHEI ENDO

Curvaceous corrugatedEndo continues his exploration of bent corrugated metal in a domestic application.

site plan

ar

ho

use

1From pool with kitchen/dining room inforeground. Endo manages to achieve awide variety of space in a tight site. 1

ar_august_2004_endo_done 20/9/04 12:44 pm Page 77

section A-A

ground floor (scale 1:200)

1 entrance2 garage3 metal terrace4 gallery5 north terrace6 rest room7 bedroom8 bath9 kitchen/dining

10 pool11 lawn

79 | 1078 | 8

ATELIER AND HOUSE, BIWA-CHO,SHIGA PREFECTURE, JAPAN

ARCHITECT

SHUHEI ENDO

2North terrace.3 Compressed kitchen/dining room.4Garage and entrance with metalterrace left. Colour and texture ofgalvanized steel relate to traditionalgrey tiles on neighbouring houses.5Junctions of flowing steel and moreorthodox elements are not alwayseasy.

sites to north and south. Ingenuity of composition andconstruction is undoubted, butthe adaptation of what Endo calls‘Springtecture’ to domesticarchitecture involves severalproblems: thermal and acousticones are obvious. And there arealso difficulties in relating thebasically orthogonal geometry ofrooms to the writhings of thesteel. Partitions are made inorthodox brick, and in glassframed in steel and timber.Particularly acute problems occurwhere walls meet the roof curvesand special pieces have to be madeto achieve the junctions.

Yet such difficulties have provedsoluble, if at a price. Springtectureis clearly coiling itself for furtherleaps. VERONICA PEASE

ArchitectShuhei EndoPhotographsYoshiharu Matsumura

2

3

4

5

10

9

5

11

2

3

4

1

67

8

ar_august_2004_endo_done 20/9/04 12:44 pm Page 78