The land is a subdivision in the northwest corner, one side of which is on the main street and another side of which is on the newly constructed road.
Because it is surrounded by other subdivisions in the east and the south and faces the roads in the west and the north, it was difficult to design an open space while securing privacy.
Even if it had a large window as common houses do, the space where others’ eyes need to be obstructed by curtains or the like might not be comfortable. Therefore we thought that it might be possible to create a more comfortable and pleasant space by moderately, not completely, separating the interior from the exterior.
Article source: tomomi kito architect & associates
This is the interior design project for a new Arup’s office in Tokyo.
Arup’s staff designed their own office and also managed the relocation project by themselves.
Before commencing design, a questionnaire on workplace for all staff was conducted. The result showed that they hope for a “well-being” office which allows them to work comfortably, while representing Arup’s brand and culture.
The 115.8 m2 site sits along a busy industrial street, and the program was to rebuild the existing steel structured warehouse / office building.
Being adjacent to a wide street, the advantages of this site were accessibility with an ease of loading and unloading, quantity and size wise, the merchandize they deal in and the site also being a corner site, the building would stand out from the surroundings. On the other hand, the disadvantages were the continuous noise during the day, together with the tremors caused by heavy traffic and also the extremely week ground strength.
Located in a dense residential district in Tokyo, this property is distinguished by its triangular shape formed by two roads meeting at a sharp angle. The clients, a couple and their daughter, wanted a house that balanced privacy with the right amount of connection to the surrounding environment, while also controlling environmental elements like the direct sun that results from its location on a south-eastern corner lot bordered by roads on three sides. They also wanted a layout that made the best possible use of the lot’s unique shape.
Two Stories Building: exploring possibilities in commercial tenant buildings Commissioned design of this commercial tenant building was inspired by considering two main themes. First: how the design should relate to the neighborhood. We considered what aspects of the building should blend in and what statement it could make. As for the existing cityscape, until around the 1990s many buildings in this suburb featured conventional low gable roofs, hip roofs, or pavilion roofs. Flat roofs appeared in the past 15 years or so as condominiums, apartment complexes, and commercial buildings popped up here and there. Now these flat-roofed office buildings and condos are becoming more common here. Without any bustling city streets, shopping districts, or built-up commercial areas by train stations, a multi-story, flat-roof building would have looked somewhat out of place. The street in front is still fairly busy however, and people often pass by on their way to a nearby elementary school or park, or to a city office or public transportation at either end. After pondering the building’s volume and shape, we decided that the volume should not stand out from the skyline on this block, and that the shape should consist of gable roofs on a low-rise building that would seem familiar to the mix of generations here, like how the neighborhood has looked for years. And because it is a commercial tenant building in a largely residential area, we sought elements less reminiscent of a business than of a detached home. In this way, the shapes mimic other shapes found in the neighborhood. The second consideration in design was how to arrange a visitor’s approach to the businesses inside from the street. Specifically, we explored ways to act on psychological mechanisms as visitors pass from the door to the rooms inside. Before entering the rooms, visitors briefly pass through buffer zones (which we call “experience chambers”) that reset their mood. First, people’s latent desire for new experiences is roused even from the street in front as they notice a kind of dotted tunnel. Once they enter, the tunnel momentarily neutralizes the everyday world behind them, leading them onward. Similarly, a staircase leading to the second floor also serves as a mood-altering chamber, shifting their perspective the same way through a dotted, blue-colored static space before they enter the place of business. It gives the impression of a moderated connection between the collective, social world outside and the spaces of individual businesses within, instead of a direct connection.
The site is a parcel along the coast. The location is perfect for the sea, the sky and the greenery of the island. The client’s desire to feel the sea at all times in his life was designed in particular, paying close attention to the arrangement of the buildings. In order to sandwich the adjoining between the site and the sea, while assuming that the building is erected in the future adjoining, in a direction without the sight as much as possible, the aperture was provided while putting the diaphragm. In this way, from the entrance through the stairs to the LDK, the superfluous things are not reflected, and finished in a space that can be felt only the sea and the sky always. The parking space usually provided on the road surface, such as placing a part of the building in the back of the site, such as Pilotis, is a house that has been involved in the “sea” thoroughly. Another theme of “Hotel-like living” I take advantage of the views of the scenery without feeling too much life, but the necessary functions (storage, etc.) are secured with the kitchen. I am planning to live in a hotel not just a hotel.
Even though there is Nagoya city near by, there is tranquil area of farm land of that has been in the family for generations. On the northern end of the large site sits the home of the owner’s parents, and a separated structure was built on the south side. This is a plan to rebuild the south side structure as a home for the owner, his wife, and his young daughter.
The goal of this project is to make a natural relationship between the two homes maintaining the reasonable distants, not too close, and not too far. It is not to live with parents, or not also to make a sharing place with parents. My design is an attempt to maintain the garden view between the two homes and to connect the inside living area to its natural srrounding outside.
The Racketectonics Archifixture is not a building, but rather a huge fixture made into a building. The new flagship store for Wada Sports is all about the racket; the racket as a product, but also as an element of the architectural design.
The inside of the shop features a large elliptical metallic structure which role is both supporting the building and embodying the rackets’ fixture. Standing at 5.5m high from floor to ceiling, the ellipse is built into two parts; the retail and the exhibition.
The painting “Yozakura Gekka” by H. Senju, featuring a weeping cherry in the moonlight – Owner asked for a private space for it, where he could dwell quietly & feel the beauty of falling petals, in simple but elegant place.
It was one-storied 40 years old wooden house of 66 m2. The frame was kept, but the west side was made into a spacious room with living room/ study & bedroom. Kitchen/ bathroom were placed in east.
To incorporate the owner’s love for the painting and cherry blossoms, the concept for this project was proposed that the painting was to become the center of the house, rather than creating a space to exhibit it.
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