A Shady Mountain Cottage and Mr. Ishima

The University Of Tokyo
Prof. PhD T

A purpose of building a house or purchasing it has quite different thought like a car.When I wanted to building a mountain cottage first, I thought seeing a ready-build house and ordering it or choosing a house from some patterns are better than paying designing fee.

However, I have known interests and profundities of building since I met Mr. Ishima who was introduced from my acquaintance.

My wife's parents passed away one after another, so we prepared the land for build a mountain cottage to put their left things in order. At first, I imagined such as simple warehouse, but through the conversation with Mr. Ishima, a lot of ideas sprang up and I became to think that I want to use those ideas for my wife, too.
At the time, she needed to devoting her time to enjoy her hobbies and going out to playful place where it is different from daily life because of the successive unhappiness.

Mr. Ishima's words were impressive for me; because it is mountain cottage, there might be some inconveniences, but I'll do design a harmonized cottage with nature. ; His large build contrasts with his delicate and wild character. What is more, he is an artistic type such as drawing a plan with shading of pencil instead of CAD system. He shows unique and amazing idea and listens to my consult with zeal.

A plan of this cottage designed by Mr. Ishima has a quite different appeal from normally houses. Our wishes were no involving to log and along with slanting landform. Furthermore, we had a little money, so we asked him to design a house that we are able to live a simple life. He seemed to have many friends, so he also knew great workmen who are so reliable in each place and Tazawa-lake town, too. Therefore, only 2 months needed to the construction. It‘s natural for the town to have 2 or 3 meter's depth of snow. A mountain cottage which is able to withstand a heavy snow and also has 3 straight pillars of cedar on the high foundation of concrete was completed.

After that, we have used this cottage for about 14years, but he provides steady aftercare for us. When we noticed a problem, workmen improved it kindly.
In 2002, timbers were putted up to the outer wall for the purpose of using the house for a long time. Because timbers are placed one behind the other, the house drains well and looks like a bigger than before.

I looked other houses which are designed by Mr.Ishima, and they seemed to be suited to each family. What is more, they looked comfortable and just like it no other.

In the future, it is necessary for develop sustainable society to create comfortable and insatiable houses. Moreover, it's also important to use recyclable materials and choose safe ones which don't emit environmental hormones. These conceptions are　more important than the conception that creating great deals of well-made houses in low price, I think. That's why I think Mr. Ishima's work will contribute greatly from now on.