Kaze no Sou, a mini-eco-village with wind next to Kinkakuji Temple and its historical background

Kaze no Sou, a mini-eco-village with wind next to Kinkakuji Temple and its historical background

The mid-2000s was a time when the terms "environmentally symbiotic housing" and "eco-village" suddenly came into the limelight in Japan. After the Kyoto Protocol came into effect, calls for CO₂ reduction and sustainable living increased, and the introduction of eco-technology began to be emphasized in housing policy. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism developed a subsidy system for environmentally symbiotic housing, and model homes and advanced housing exhibits increased in each region.

In the midst of this trend, architect Kimio Watanabe (President of K. Watabe) designed and constructed the "Mini Eco-Village Kaze-no-So," a three-building complex on a plot of land of about 400 tsubo (about 1,000 square meters), right next to Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto. The site was originally a villa of a Nishijin weaver's husband, and the owner, who respected the 100-year-old garden, had refused to convert the property into condominiums. The project was set there, and based on the idea of baubiologie (architectural ecology), we aimed to create a space where residents, nature, and the local community would be in harmony.

The design goals set by Kaze-no-So included water circulation and reduction, CO₂ emission control, 40% reduction of hot-water energy, maintenance of the ecosystem on a 100-year scale, and creation of a space that protects human homeostasis (homeostasis).

In terms of facilities, domestic wastewater will be re-purified by a biological filtration system and reused for toilets and laundry. Paulownia wood was used for walls and floors to enhance heat insulation and humidity control, and a wooden panel lattice wall structure (ligno construction method) was used to ensure air circulation. Some reports indicate that this method has made it possible to live without air conditioning during extremely hot summers. The house is also designed to protect the residents' physical and mental health, with measures taken against electromagnetic waves and chemical substances.

The interaction between the designers and residents was at the heart of this project. Mr. Watanabe emphasized that "a house is a recharger for people" and that the residents should be placed first and foremost at the center, and that the house should be built in balance with the community, nature, and society. The residents expressed a desire for a sense of security, ventilation, and light, rather than convenience and comfort. Through these dialogues, the design and the living environment jointly took shape at the site.

The city of Kyoto itself has an "Environmental Model City" concept, and there was much attention paid to an example of balancing the landscape of a traditional city with environmental considerations. Kaze-no-So was introduced in the architectural media and environmental magazines not only for its eco-building techniques, but also as a "modern landscape creation" that was conscious of the context and local climate of the tourist city of Kyoto.

The project was only possible through daily conversations with the residents, the designers, the community and the builders. For example, words such as "The wind feels good flowing today," "I feel the bark on the walls breathing," "The water in the rainwater tank is getting clearer," and "The shades of light change the room," reflect a real sense of living that cannot be described by technical specifications. Such words sublimate the architecture of Kaze-no-So into a place that connects people with nature.