Article source: Takeru Shoji Architects Co., Ltd. 

Wow! Sta. is situated in Horinouchi, in the Central Ward of Niigata City – an area where the city center gradually begins to give way to the suburbs. The scenery lining the nearby main road is dominated by large commercial and retail buildings and their accompanying signage.

The businesses, houses and multilevel apartments that sprawl out from Niigata Station constitute this typical inner-city area.

Located just one street back from the main road with its dazzling lights and the din of the traffic, we find an area that is surprisingly calm, unlit by even street lights.

Image Courtesy © Koichi Satake

• Architects: Takeru Shoji Architects Co., Ltd.
• Project: Wow! Sta.
• Location: Chuo-ku Niigata, Japan
• Photography: Koichi Satake
• Project architect in charge: Yuki Hirano
• Architect: Takeru Shoji
• Structural engineering: Tetsuya Tanaka, Tetsuya Tanaka Structural Engineers
• Lighting design: Yutaka Inaba, FORLIGHTS
• Structure: Steel
• Gross floor area: 258.3 sqm
• Date of completion: Dec.2015

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