The most important feature of our house is that the living room has no roof
Probably we are skirting the law
In the beginning I drew a sketch and showed it to my wife, only half-jokingly
Unexpectedly she said we could have a try
I told the children
‘I’m going to build a house without roof’
They were startled
‘Switch will be spoiled by rain’
Our house has 2 storeys
It’s 85 m2 in total area
The area of the part without roof is not included
The open-air space enlarges the actual area of the first floor by 1.5 times
I’m an ordinary salaryman
Who draws manga after work under the pen name ‘zajiroh’
I designed the house’s general structure
While my wife was responsible for the interior design
Lots of architects have white houses with minimalist design
But we don’t only have black, white and gray clothes
I create colorful works as well
So I asked my wife to design our home with various colors
The living room gets wet in the rain
So we have to cover the piano, the tv and the air-conditioner there
With glass cases
We even watch the tv through glass
It feels like in a museum
Where an exhibition of ‘human life in the 20th century’ is on view
Isn’t it interesting to pry into somebody’s life
I make a piece of tarpaulin above
When it rains, we keep the water with it
But it’s inconvenient in stormy days
So we need to arrange the stuff in the living room in advance
Of course the doors should all be closed
Then we just let it rain and blow
My daughter once called it a ‘virtual outside world’
We play with water in swimsuit here in rainy days
Paint for exterior walls is used in the living room
And drainage facilities are designed as well
So water doesn’t accumulate
The biggest problem is the air-conditioner
Warm air goes away from the vault
So we’ve installed underfloor heating
And electric heaters
We keep warm with radiation
Once you go upstairs, you see the master bedroom and the corridor
Because the children are still young, so they sleep together
When they grow up
The bedroom will be divided into 3 separate smaller rooms
There’s a small space which is used as my study
It’s only as big as 2.5m2
The door is part of the work
Exhibited on the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale
The study contains my drawing stuff
I don’t do company work at home
I’m totally the at-home me
I accumulated the manga I drew during my round-trip commute
Sent it to the publisher and won an award
It’s about an ordinary office worker drawing in bus
Who is actually me
I’m probably talented in drawing
My family like the open-air living room the most
And they’re quite satisfied with the home I design