Yodoko Guest House by Frank Lloyd Wright

Today I thought to share some photos I have on Yodoko Guest House by Frank Lloyd Wright when I last visited.

Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned by Tazaemon Yamamura, a sake brewer (whose son-in-law was a classmate of Arata Endo, one of Wright's apprentices who also worked on the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo) to build this holiday house.  It is located in Ashiya, a beautiful high end suburb in Hyogo (near Osaka), Japan, and is the only surviving house Wright has designed in Japan.  It is now property of Yodogawa Steel Works, hence the name change from Yamamura House to Yodoko Guest House.

The house has suffered 1995's Great Hanshin Earthquake but was repaired and reopened to public.

the hill approaching the Yodoko Guest House is nicknamed "Wright Zaka" ("Wright Hill")

catching a glimpse of the building from street

the house is very discreet from the street, forms a beautiful composition with the trees

approaching the house

composition above entry porch

light at the entry pillar, the house is generally on the dark side, or maybe because it was raining the day I visited

internal wall composition - Wright's windows are so unique in proportion and material

sitting room - one of the 2 main rooms in the house

detail to the wall / ceiling junction.

ceiling of the banquet room on top - the second major room in the house

detail at the fireplace

relationship between natural and artificial light

detail at the ceiling corner

looking out to the rooftop terrace

looking back to the banquet room from the roof top terrace, series of small windows formed the decorative edge along the top of awning.. and what an unusual shape!"

detail at the facade

The site is quite steep, Wright stepped the house according to the site slope into 4 sections (from memory).  There were some interesting compression and expansion of spaces while you walk through the house as the result.

official site to Yodoko Guest House... HERE (the "Secretes of Guest house" section accessible from tab on the left hand side has some in-depth architectural background informations)