Shutter House Diagram

           This diagram of the Shutter House for a Photographer by Shigeru Ban shows the relationship between interior and exterior spaces.  The site is three times as long as it is wide, so the book is oriented likewise.  The height of the book is the length of the site and the width is the width of the site.  The spine is the anchor of the book and therefore represents the foundation of the house.  The ends of the site are angled, so these angles are replicated in the diagram.  

Incisions have been made where courtyards are located.  The largest courtyard has balconies that come out from the third floor, so the incision is only a quarter inch deep.  This represents space that is not entirely interior or exterior space, but rather somewhere in between.  This idea of Ma is reflected in the entire house.  The shutter windows concealing the gardens can be completely opened and every room is nearly surrounded by these courtyards and ivy walls.  The rooms are essentially all lingering in that in between state, bordering interior and exterior. 

The front face of the book is divided into the four floors of the house.  The first two are underground, so nothing has been removed from the bottom half of the book.  The top two follow the elevations’ scheme.  The checkered ivy walls show where this “different form of translucency” has been incorporated to allow for maximum light while retaining a certain degree of privacy.  These ivy walls leave very few physical walls on the exterior, giving the house a very light, airy feel, as if it is disintegrating into its surroundings, again reinforcing the idea of Ma, and this interval between interior and exterior.