This is a property that we met with the owner after participating in an online competition.

The client lives with a fairly large bird, and when moving from an apartment to a house, they were looking for a way to allow the bird to live there without stress.

Since they are basically living as a couple, they requested a single-story home, and they were also considering using a wheelchair in the future, so the plan took these into account.

The thermal environment of an apartment is completely different from that of a house. It is surrounded by natural insulation from the neighboring houses, so it is hard to feel cold and it is warm even in winter. However, to counter this, we installed spray-in insulation and tried to plan the space with less temperature difference throughout the house by using underfloor air conditioners. The outlet of the underfloor air conditioner is usually slit-shaped, but to prevent birds' legs from getting caught, we wrapped it with stainless steel netting to prevent them from getting caught. In addition, to make it easier for people in wheelchairs to move around, we adopted a circulation route (because U-turns are difficult), and we created the floor plan by making sure to leave ample space in areas where a wheelchair can turn.

As birds sometimes trim their beaks using objects nearby, we asked an expert to provide the client with a list of materials that required caution, and we took great care in selecting materials for use inside the house.

The completed house seems to have become a place where the clients can relax together in the living room on a regular basis, making it a place where they can literally stretch their legs.