split-level timber house organizes layered interiors around japanese forest landscape
Reimagining the Forest: Yosuke Tomiya's Split-Level Timber House
Rather than using the woods as a backdrop, this residence weaves the surrounding Japanese forest into the rhythm of everyday life.
A House That Grows With Its Landscape
Yosuke Tomiya's latest project, the Morimado House, does more than sit beside a stand of trees-it invites the forest inside. By aligning the building's massing with the natural topography and exposing locally-sourced Japanese cedar, the design turns the landscape into a living, breathing part of the interior experience.
Split-Level Organization Mirrors Terraced Woodlands
The house is organized on three staggered levels, each stepping down toward the canopy. This arrangement echoes the terraces formed by mature trees, allowing occupants to move through a sequence of spaces that feel like a walk through the forest itself. Large glazing frames the view on every level, blurring the line between interior and exterior.
Three Conical Roofs Serve Both Form and Function
Three slender, conical timber roofs crown the structure. Their geometry references the trunks of surrounding cedars while providing practical benefits: rainwater is collected and channeled to a discreet storage system, and the roofs' steep pitch encourages rapid shedding of snow and leaves, reducing maintenance.
Material Honesty and Aging Gracefully
All structural elements are left exposed, showcasing the natural grain of Japanese cedar. As the timber weathers, it deepens in color, harmonizing with the forest's seasonal palette. This approach underscores a philosophy of material honesty-nothing is hidden, and the building ages alongside its environment.
Contextual Comparisons
Tomiya's approach resonates with recent projects such as the dark-timber A&A House in a Polish pine forest, where a similar respect for local wood and site-specific form creates a dialogue between architecture and nature. In Bangkok, Anonym Studio's vertically organized house also demonstrates how layered interiors can respond to dense urban foliage, reinforcing a global shift toward ecosystem-integrated design.
Lessons for Practitioners
Let the site dictate the plan - Topography and existing vegetation should guide spatial hierarchy.
Expose timber - Leaving structural wood visible fosters a tactile connection and allows the building to mature with its surroundings.
Use roof geometry wisely - Conical or steep roofs can double as ecological devices for water management and visual integration.
Create layered sightlines - Staggered levels provide multiple framed views, turning each interior moment into a curated landscape tableau.
Looking Ahead
As more architects prioritize ecological responsiveness, Tomiya's split-level timber house offers a concrete template for embedding natural processes into built form. Future projects that refine these strategies will further dissolve the boundary between habitat and home.
Bottom Line
The Morimado House proves that a forest can be more than scenery; it can be a structural partner. By letting the landscape shape the building's organization, materiality, and roof language, the project sets a benchmark for sustainable, context-driven architecture.
Yosuke Tomiya's Morimado House integrates a Japanese forest into its architecture through split-level organization, exposed cedar structure, and three conical roofs that function both aesthetically and ecologically. The design demonstrates how topography and vegetation can dictate spatial layout, offering a model for architects seeking deeper connections between building and nature.
- Design should respond to existing topography and vegetation, allowing the site to dictate spatial organization.
- Exposed local timber fosters material honesty and ages harmoniously with the surrounding forest.
- Layered, split-level interiors echo natural terraces, creating a sensory narrative that mirrors the forest's complexity.
- Roof forms can serve both aesthetic and ecological functions, such as rainwater collection and visual integration with tree canopies.
- Framing singular views of the landscape turns nature into a dynamic artwork within each interior space.
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