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| Asian House |
| Visit a piece of Japan on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. |
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Canadian-born Alex Edwards bought a small block of land amidst state forest in Queensland's Sunshine Coast hinterland. Using concepts of lines and space that he learnt from architecture in Japan, he designed and built himself a traditional Japanese home, which took him 20 years to complete.
Japanese designs work on standard modular systems. Tatami mats for floors and paper used to cover shoji screens are part of the system used to determine the size of a house or flat. Tatami mats are made from reed, with the underside incorporating 4cm rice straw for insulation and easy walking.
Alex has incorporated these Japanese philosophies into his design. However, the rooms are larger than those of a comparable home in Japan. He constructed the building alone, and although this presented problems (holding up beams by himself, etc) the main frustration was the length of time the project took.
The home is made from fibro cement, timber and shoji screens. The screens are simply made by tacking rice paper onto lattice Alex built from timber. Much of the structural material, including rig capping and fibro sheets, was recycled.
Doorways are larger than those in Japan and conform to local council regulations. Rice paper sheets come in standard widths of 28cm, so all openings had to fit in with these measurements. The rice paper walls still enable you to hear the sounds of nature from outdoors and their translucent nature casts soft shadows.
The bathroom consists of a glassed room behind a shoji screen. The floor is lined with pebbles. To wash, Alex sits on a boulder for a stool and pours water from a bowl over himself in typical Japanese style. Under the pebbles in this area is a cement slab that collects the water. A run-off pipe then directs the water to plants as part of an irrigation scheme.
A traditional raked pebble Zen garden forms the centrepiece of the courtyard outside. The garden is supposed to encourage contemplation and relaxation. A pattern that resembles islands and ocean waves has been raked around rocks.
There is no electricity on site. Alex uses a gas fridge and stove and kerosene lamps and candles. He adopts a minimalist approach and has sparsely furnished the home with pieces accumulated from his various travels. This way he maintains a comfortable feeling of space.
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