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Architecture / 30.10.2026

Villa Boso Tests a House Without Concrete

Kenichi Teramoto revisits vernacular building through a villa made without concrete, replacing a universal construction default with local materials, gravity and craft.

Villa Boso / Kenichi Teramoto / office of Teramoto
© Masao Nishikawa Photography Studio

Villa Boso begins with a direct refusal: the house is constructed without concrete. For Kenichi Teramoto, this is less a technical novelty than a way to question how contemporary practice came to depend on one material as a default.

The project looks back to vernacular traditions that preceded reinforced concrete, when building systems emerged from local materials, gravity, craft, and accumulated knowledge. The aim is not to reproduce a historical style but to carry that intelligence into current construction.

That position gives the villa significance beyond its footprint. It treats material choice as an architectural argument, asking whether a contemporary house can be rigorous without relying on the construction culture it critiques.

Photography: Masao Nishikawa Photography Studio.

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