Circularity Cabin: A Dismantlable Japanese Timber Home

A planned road expansion in Zushi, Japan, gave the Circularity Cabin an expiration date from the very beginning. Because local rules require structures in the affected area to be easy to dismantle, Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture and AREANO designed the two-story house as a dwelling that can move alongside its residents. Its timber frame can be taken apart by hand, transported, and assembled again elsewhere, allowing the circular structure to outlast the plot it currently occupies.

Standard timber sections available from Japanese home centers form most of the structure, joined using bolts and screws rather than permanent connections. The components remain small enough to be handled without heavy machinery, while their familiar dimensions make them easier to reuse if the house is eventually broken down for parts. The cabin is therefore organized around two possible futures: relocation as a complete building, or reuse as a collection of timber elements.

Inside the Circularity Cabin, which measures roughly 5.7 meters wide, the construction by Takaaki Fuji + Yuko Fuji Architecture is almost completely exposed. A 1.82 by 1.82-meter grid sets out 105-millimeter-square columns, while much of the remaining frame utilizes 45 by 105-millimeter pine and cedar members. These smaller sections require minimal processing beyond being cut to length and drilled. There are no precut joinery details to decode during disassembly, and the external wall sheathing doubles as the interior surface, leaving the frame and its connections in plain view.

The second-floor structure makes this logic especially visible. Closely spaced 45-millimeter-square joists form an open slatted deck, fixed with screws while providing the necessary horizontal rigidity for the floor. The central stair follows a similarly direct approach, with timber treads fixed to square steel stringers that bolt onto the columns and can be removed when needed. Architecture that typically disappears behind finishes remains legible here, which also makes repairs and replacements much easier for the people living inside.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

The cabin also responds closely to Zushi’s yato topography, a valley enclosed by hills and open toward the sea where wind directions shift between day and night. Three high sidelights rise above the timber cube to capture those changing breezes, with their positions informed by environmental analysis of the surrounding terrain. Facing a busy arterial road to the southwest, the house keeps openings on that elevation limited and draws much of its daylight and ventilation from above.