Like toy blocks nestled playfully into the snow, the eight houses of Foxwood estate present an interesting mise en scène. The project responds to the increasing housing need for both locals and visitors who flock annually to Niseko’s winter sports playground. The pitched roof is rich in symbolism, alluding to mountain range and the ears of a snow fox in partial hiding. Functionally, it allows heavy snow to slip off during winter and rain to run off in summer using gravity. The house’s timber shell is laid in a diagonal pattern to echo the dynamism of the roofline, which rises toward Mt. Yotei.
