Set within the plateau landscapes of Jinseki in Hiroshima Prefecture, House in Jinseki by RID is a quiet interior transformation shaped by place, craft and time.
Located around 1.5 hours north of Fukuyama City at an elevation of 400 to 700 metres, the property looks out across expansive mountain scenery that shifts dramatically with the seasons.
The site comprises a main building, an annex and a barn arranged in a linear east–west formation. Following the renovation of the main building and barn as the first phase of works beginning in 2021, attention turned to the annex as part of the second phase. Intended to function as guest accommodation, the detached wooden structure was accompanied by the gradual formation of a main garden and well positioned to take in views of the surrounding mountains, timed with the thaw of winter snow and the arrival of spring.
Unlike the older main house and barn, the annex did not require structural reinforcement due to its relatively recent construction. Its newer appearance, however, sat at odds with the weathered character of the rest of the property. To restore a sense of continuity, aluminum window frames were replaced with timber ones, bringing warmth and visual coherence to the interiors and aligning the annex more closely with its neighbouring buildings.
Inside, the renovation draws from the traditional IGURA-TSUKURI house style of the Kamo region in Hiroshima. This approach, typically expressed through a two-tiered roof with distinct upper and lower forms, informed the interior proportions and ceiling volumes. The first floor accommodates three guest rooms alongside cleaning areas, with the largest guest room making use of the original atrium structure to achieve a generous five-metre ceiling height, lending the room an airy, open quality despite its modest footprint.
