It situates in the Yokote Basin where the mountains of the Ou Mountains are interlinked, and groundwater gushes out throughout the area.

That was our first visit to Misato and we saw Mizu-Itakura (water warehouse).

Mizu-itakura are grain warehouses built on reservoir and are unique to this area. Because they are on water, the environment inside is kept constant throughout the year, protecting them from theft, fire and vermin damage. The water drawn from a spring is a bit cold, so it warms up here to the normal temperature before discharged into the rice paddies. Formerly people kept koi-fish in the water that would feed them in winter.

The client was an architect who also had the concept for an environmental architecture that maximizes the use of natural vigor. 

Therefore, the gardens were designed to incorporate the water culture created from the long experience and wisdom of the farmers, such as Mizu-Itakura.

On the north side, we created a trench and an afforestation area on its bank to bring in the cool northern breezes.

As the garden is a valuable place to retain rainwater and snowmelt, we designed the trench that the snow fallen off from the roof piles up in it.

The generous, shelving embankment emphasizes the trench and gives visual buoyancy to the building which is small but having the feelings of the mass.

The trench is also effective in preventing plants from being crushed under heavy snowfalls.

The area is sparsely studded with houses, and each has a dense coniferous homestead-forest. The scenery here is characterized by homestead-forests standing here and there in the middle of the countryside.

Behind the building, the forest of Suwa Shrine sits squarely like a guardian deity. Passing through the entrance door you can see the Ou Mountains behind the countryside, and the meeting room overlooks the woods of Yanosuke-Shimizu.

We believe that it is not our job to fiddle heedlessly with garden and flaunt our skills.

Or rather, it is important to let our consciousness crawl over the entire scene and venture to add nothing in creating the landscape.

We can’t wait to see how the garden as an environment grows, blends into the local area and develops further.