snow country garage

｜DATA

Design: Hirotaka Sato, Toru Kashihara (joint design)
Site: Asahi Village, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture Structure: Wooden
Use: Garage/Warehouse
Building area: 71.00m2
Total floor area: 110.75m2
Completion: 2007.2
Joint design: Toru Kashihara Architects Structural design: Taro Yokoyama / Low Fat Structure
Construction: Sato Industry
Photo: Hirotaka Sato

｜CONCEPT

A garage built in a heavy snowfall area in Niigata Prefecture. It is a two-story wooden structure, and the first floor is used as a garage for four cars, and the second floor is used as a warehouse.
The shape of this small, unique building was rationally derived to secure a parking frontage and to deal with heavy snowfall.
The frame on the short side adopts a scissor-shaped structure (scissor truss) that combines two trusses. This frame is normally used for the roof, but by using it on the vertical plane, the entire frontage becomes an opening, making it possible to smoothly move in and out of the car. The lopsided roof dumps snow into the adjacent irrigation canal, allowing it to melt naturally. In addition, the slope of the wall on the snowfall side protects the building from accumulated snow and secures passages during snowfall.