Blue Bottle Coffee Nakameguro Café in Tokyo, Japan by Jo Nagasaka/ Schemata Architects

Article source: Jo Nagasaka/ Schemata Architects 

It was such a great honor for me to design the renovation of my favorite building that I used to see every day. About nine years ago, we had co-established a shared office HAPPA across the street from the building and relocated our former office there; we employed to observe the neighborhood through the glass and this building was my most favorite among others on the street.

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

• Architects: Jo Nagasaka/ Schemata Architects
• Project: Blue Bottle Coffee Nakameguro Café
• Location: 3-23-16 Nakameguro Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
• Photography: Takumi Ota
  
• Software used: Vectorworks, SketchUp
• Project team: Ryosuke Yamamoto, Yui Matsushita
• Collaboration: SOUP DESIGN(sign), hoshizaki(kitchen), WHITELIGHT.Ltd(sound plan), 1lux(lighting plan), GRANSCAPE Inc.(plant plan)
• Construction: TANK
• Structure: Steel
• Floor area: 3F_70.70m², 2F_150.23m², 1F_126.75m², B1F_49.64m², Total_397.32m²
• Completon: 10/2016

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Incidentally, Blue Bottle Coffee decided to open their fifth shop there and we were commissioned to renovate the building to accommodate cafe/office, spaces used for barista training and workshop. It was a three-story steel structure formerly used as an electric factory, and we intended to hereby create a “fair relationship” between all people present, which is our basic spatial concept for Blue Bottle Coffee.

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Since this neighborhood is located far from the station, the streets are lined with many unique and small-sized shops. In order to continue the sense of small scale into the space, floors are divided in a stepped-floor style, while utilizing the existing openings formerly used for loading/unloading and storing. Horizontal pivot windows installed on the front glass façade help defining the boundary between the interior and the surrounding environment, while establishing a visual relationship of “see and be seen” so that people become aware of each other’s presence wherever they are in the space.

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Takumi Ota

Image Courtesy © Jo Nagasaka/ Schemata Architects

Image Courtesy © Jo Nagasaka/ Schemata Architects

Image Courtesy © Jo Nagasaka/ Schemata Architects

Tags: Japan, Tokyo

Categories: Cafe, SketchUp, Vectorworks

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