Morioka no ya
Iwate prefecture, Japan
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This house is located
in Morioka, Japan. Morioka is an isolated area with long winters on
the Northern edge of the Japanese archipelago. The house was designed
with two concepts. The basic concept was co-existence with light,
snow and wind. Another concept was to create living spaces that reflected
the slow pace, along with supporting a family of three generations.
Three rivers merge in Morioka and it has traditionally been known
as a water city. This house reflects the image of the city into the
interior landscape. It @also expresses the water image of the city
with unique lightings. The architect arranged the lighting in various
ways in order to create a warm interior, that would help to make the
long winter days comfortable and bright.
From the entrance hall through to the gallery, a loose slope continues
to the second floor. From the house one can see a wide picturesque
panorama of the Iwate mountains, as they step naturally throughout
the house. From the bath, Mt. Iwate can been seen far off in the distance.
Taking a rest at the herb garden on the roof is a comfortable way
to relax in the morning or early evening. Curved and straight walls
represent the fields of life and the courtyards of various shapes
interestingly trim down the exterior scenery. The Tohoku Northeastern
region of Japanfs climate is sunny in the winter creating the perfect
environment for open and comfortable interior living spaces. All of
the indoor rooms are heated by floor heating system so that the winter
cold can be easily managed. In the summer, the floor air conditioning
system adds comfort to the home. The architect has given careful consideration
to a sustainable low thermal resistant ecological environment.
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Portone II-I
Tokyo, Japan |
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This is the headquarters
of the Tokyo branch of a printing company. The building houses a real
time network system with printing offices, along with acting as the
central headquarters of the company for the region.
The vertical surface of the facade of the building is scooped out
into an oval shape. It is braced horizontally and vertically, corresponding
to the structural treatment necessary for the case of an earthquake.
The left column is an elevator shaft covered with black granite. It
serves as a metaphor representing the history of the company. The
column on the right is a sculptured wall covered with stainless steel.
This represents the future development of the company. These two columns
are joined at the top, creating a gate-like structure called the Portone..
It was designed with the intention of inspiring the employees who
pass under the gate everyday on their way to and from work. The design
hopes to remind employees that creative ideas and intelligent work
will continue to flourish at the branch headquarters in the future.
The height limit is just 31 meters for ten floors. Slabs and beams
are limited to just 450 millimeters in height. Pre-stressed concrete
beams provide a solution for this limitation. The building has full
functional capacities with five garages, a studio, offices, and a
printing room. All of these make the most of extremely minimized conditions.
The facade of the building accents the three primary colors in printing,
creating a visually interesting look for passersby on the street.
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Victory House 326
Sabrina House,
Tokyo, Japan |
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The owner of this home requested the architect to incorporate the image of the Audrey Hepburn film gSabrinah somewhere into the design of the house. The architect created the image of a red wall lying down at the entrance along with a red wall that penetrates two floors of the residential space, in order to realize this request in the clientfs favorite spaces in the home. The first floor consists of a space for a bank. The next three floors consist of eight efficiently located maisonette type residences. The ownerfs residence is located on the top two floors. The facade is covered with horizontal louvers which act as a filter to ease the glare of the setting sun and lessen traffic noise. At the same time they work as an interface between public spaces and private spaces. This is different from a traditional Japanese lattice. It creates a contemporary atmosphere with a new organization, creating a simple and well-formed appearance to the complicated townscape. |
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House with studio at Fujigaoka
Kanagawa prefecture, Japan
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This house was designed for a photographer as a studio and as a house suitable for someone in the photography business. From the entrance, a wide perspective stairway gallery bends 90@degrees in the center inviting people to the living room on the third floor. A continuous stairway leads to all rooms. This process creates contrasts of light and shade. The composition of the penetration and crossing of round walls creates a fantastic space that gives the condensed impression of simple organization. The top floor creates a calm space composing of a portion of blue sky and a white courtyard. The round front plaza is not only suitable for various performances but it can also be used entirely as a stage for photography with the studio on the first floor. |
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The Hadano Railway Station and Passage Complex on the Odakyu line
Kanagawa prefecture, Japan
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The Hadano railway station requested
the establishment of a free passageway which would connect the divided
North and South Plaza, with a ticket wicket in the center. The passengers
had hoped for the station to have a fresh new look as a convenient
station which had a combined function as a gate structure for the
city center of Tokyo. The station, which is located in the suburbs,
also serves as a mecca for hikers heading to the Tanzawa Mountainous
district. On the weekends the station is filled with sightseers. After
disembarking from the train, the sequence of the passengerfs movements
is similar in a way to their hiking experience in the mountains. The
two slightly curved platforms are more than 200 meter in length. They
are the base of the free passage area as well as the station building
located on the bridge. In order to create a safe and attractive vista
at the platform level, three characteristic columns were configured
in parallel with the rails on both the upper and lower lines, so as
to avoid the situation of too many columns standing too close together.
On the concourse floor level, a realized system of positioned ultimately
reduced columns were created that are structurally free from the configuration
of columns at the platform level. The space is covered with a large
roof and a high ceiling that shows a comfortable extension.
1) The curved roof has an outline that corresponds to the shape
of Mount Fuji and the Tanzawa mountainous region.
2) The flow of passengers in the station along with the flow of
space from the train platform to the ticket wicket reflects the
image of the hikers in the mountainous district.
3) The concourse is designed to reflect the image of the basin
of waterfall.
4) Structural frames are the main characteristic of the west side
of the station.
5) The structural frames are constructed with two floors extending
from one unit.
6) The street scene is accented by the three primary colors.
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The Yunooku Gold Mine History Museum
Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
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The ruins of the first gold mine and the first gold refinery which made gold
coins were discovered in1988, in the heart of Mt. Kenashi in Japan.
It was necessary to preserve this important estate for future generations.
The History Museum was planned and designed as a space to act not
only a museum, but also to serve as a center for community members
to interact with one another. A rust colored wall shows the direction
to the oldest gold mine ruins in Japan. The interior space is planned
so that the visitors travel in a line along the wall. The design
creates a contrast from lightness to darkness. The lighting dramatically
changes along with the window scenery, so that visitors can experience
a metaphor of light and scenery as they approach the real ruins.
The museum allows visitors to participate in several areas such
as sifting for gold, so various unique interior spaces were created
for these purposes by the architect. The facility also acts as a
base for the dispatch of information concerning the gold mine ruins,
so it plays an important role in the research of the history of
gold mining in Japan. |
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