SANU 2nd Home project,

countryside around Tokyo, Japan

‘Circular’ timber construction in Japan

In this project, wooden cabins are built at various locations in the countryside around Tokyo that offer busy city-dwellers the chance to spend a few days in picturesque rural settings to either work undisturbed or simply relax. Potential customers can take out a subscription and then book stays at cabins at various locations that can be reached from Tokyo in a few hours or less.

Only domestically sourced timber was used in the construction of these SANU cabins. The lifecycle of each cabin was considered in a holistic manner along the entire process of raw material procurement, construction, normal service and ultimate dismantling. The result is a ‘circular building’ that has a minimal environmental impact.

The ‘circular construction’ approach involves the creation of closed material cycles by using renewable raw materials and ensuring that the building components are themselves reusable in the future. In addition, the floor plans are kept flexible so that the building can be used for a range of purposes and for as long as possible.

Between late 2021 and summer 2022, fifty of these cabins have been built at seven different locations. A second project phase will see the construction of a further 81 cabins!

Building type: Accommodation, single-storey, timber structures
Year of construction: Began in late 2021. First phase completed by summer 2022.
Locations: Nagano Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, etc.
Construction contractor: ADX Co., Ltd., Fukushima and Tokyo
Designer/architect: Kotaro Anzai, ADX Co., Ltd.

All of the photos here have been provided by ADX.

Southerly view with balcony/terrace

Finished cabin

Cabin entrance

Project site on Lake Yamanaka, with Mount Fuji in the background

Interior with bedding and outdoor view

Interior: Sleeping/living area

Dining area and kitchen, with kitchen island

Living area with sofa and coffee table, with outdoor view

Impressions of the construction work

On the outside of the structure, the SOLITEX FRONTA QUATTRO connect weather-resistive barrier for open cladding and the SOLITEX MENTO 3000 connect roofing underlay protect the underlying timber structure against the natural elements on the steep sides of the cabins and on the central flat roof area. Once the cabins are complete, a timber facade that is implemented in a watertight manner and an additional roof-sealing membrane on the flat roof area provide this protection in the long term.