Prefabrication experiments - 176 - Geometries - 07 - A house of modular furniture

Throughout architectural history distinctive architects have become synonymous with their era. If Walter Gropius or Jean Prouvé were representative of twentieth century prefabrication theory uniting industry and craft through architecture, then Shigeru Ban is certainly their equal when it comes to contemporary innovative construction systems uniting Japanese culture with modernist spatial ideals.

Modular geometry, a focal point of Japanese vernacular is infused in Ban’s designs. The tatami mat, a component of Japanese domesticity proportions room sizes and their juxtaposition.  Along with the tatami mat, japanese artisans, for centuries, have devised replacement parts for post-seismic reconstruction of timber construction with regulated timber spans and sections; a type of artisanal standardisation. 

Reacting to the devastation of the 1995 earthquakes’ 7000 deaths and 60000 injuries, Shigeru Ban designed a series of case study houses exploring materials and methods for simple cost effective and durable reconstruction.  CSH 4 or the Furniture House is the most recognized. The Furniture House design harvests themes from traditional Japanese construction. The proposal is founded on a modular grid and intricately deigned built-in furniture. 

The volume is a square based prism of approximately 11 x 11 x 3.5m. A reinforced concrete base anchors the floor plane to its descending site and conceals a technical space for service distribution. A series of storage / active walls are assembled by 0,45 x 0,9 x 2,4 m plywood chests. Theses storage containers form the bearing elements and the house’s furniture avoiding the injuries associated with falling furniture.  A reinforced concrete slab is supported by the storage walls and is placed directly over the base plane creating a type of furniture sandwich.  The house’s simple geometry is composed on a square grid, which harmoniously includes a 1:2 sub-module displaying a giant tatami inspired composition. The union of tradition and modernity inspires this at once modest and Palladian house dominating its surrounding landscape as a monument to simple construction techniques. 

Recently in 2013 the furniture house inspired a partnership with Japan’s version of Ikea, MUJI, a lifestyle retailer, to imagine a prototype production version of Shigeru Ban’s manifesto.  Filled with MUJI objects this product comes close to the modernist ideal of a complete dwelling environment.

Furniture House (left) prototype production house (right)