In Japan, a House of Steel

August 19, 2009 [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/greathomesanddestinations/19gh-japan.html]In Japan, a House of Steel[/url] By ALEX FREW McMILLAN [img size=400]http://niseko.kutchannel.net/images/fbfiles/images/HanazonoHouseOfSteel.jpg[/img] [quote]On the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, overlooking a pasture where dairy cows roam in summer, is a two-story house clad entirely in steel. The facade, which is less than two years old, already has a layer of rust that its owner, Peter Grigg, says protects the surface and gives it an unusual reddish color. But then the 500-square-meter (5,382-square-foot) home, called Hanazono House, was always meant to be something of a showpiece, a way for Mr. Grigg to display some of his creative flair. The 40-year-old entrepreneur, born in Leeds, England, and raised in Perth, Australia, came to Japan in 1994 to learn the language. But after short stints as a radio DJ and freelance photographer, Mr. Grigg opened a restaurant in 2004 in the nearby ski resort of Niseko. It was the first business he branded Sekka, a name that now appears on several of his condominium projects and other buildings in town. "I've never really considered myself a businessman," said Mr. Grigg, who is more commonly known by his Japanese name Shouya, or "soaring arrow." "Even though I guess I have had a little bit of success in business, it doesn't actually interest me that much. I like to be creative — that's what drives me. I like producing things." In 2008, Mr. Grigg and his wife decided to build a second home in Hanazono, around 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, southwest of Sapporo, where they have their primary home. They bought a 15,000-tsubo (12-acre) lot for the equivalent of $3 million. Makoto Nakayama, a local architect who has worked on some of the Sekka projects, designed the house, which was built by the Town Kensetsu construction company for the equivalent of about $2.5 million. Mr. Grigg originally planned for the house to be 800 square meters (8,611 square feet), but construction regulations in Japan are more stringent for buildings greater than 500 square meters (around 5,500 square feet). "I decided to keep it at just 500 but with the option of actually building stage two," he said. "I wanted to add a pool and a spa-type zone to the place." Since the area averages nearly 600 inches of snow every year, Mr. Grigg's architects were given a significant challenge of creating a structure that can withstand the weight of the snow. Another challenge: Mr. Grigg wanted a flat roof. To support the weight, the house was constructed with steel girders usually employed for 10-story buildings. Hanazono House is built on long, low lines and split into sections. An entry corridor, which is open to the elements at one end — despite the area's harsh winters — leads to a stone statue of Guan Yin, the Chinese goddess of mercy, and the house's front door. The floor-to-ceiling windows just inside have views of a pond, with a tsukubai at its center, the stone basin found at the entrances to Japanese temples and shrines for visitors to wash their hands. The water comes from an 85-meter-deep (279-foot-deep) well so it does not freeze, even in mid-winter. The first section of the house was built as a hiraya, or a one-level dwelling, a style that was considered prestigious in old Japan because only the wealthy could afford the luxury of a single floor. Mr. Grigg has an office overlooking silver birch trees. The office is decorated with about 70 vintage cameras, including Leicas and a Hasselblad. Opposite the office, there is a traditional mizuya, a small area for preparing tea, which has an adjacent toilet and shower so it can be used as a spare bedroom. A passageway — finished in concrete, a treatment that has been used in several of Mr. Grigg's Sekka projects — leads to the second part of the building. It is two stories, although the gentle slope of the terrain allowed the architect to maintain a single roof level. The rooms include an open living room, kitchen and a total of five bedrooms. The walls of the Hanazono House are plastered with kaiso do, a plaster from northern Hokkaido that absorbs odors, and there is an under-floor heating system that circulates hot water from a kerosene-burning boiler. Much of the interior of the house, like many homes in Japan, is covered with a variety of woods, including walnut, oak and rosewood.[/quote]