amano design office

Architectural outline

Building location　　 : Jingumae-3-chome, Shibuya_ku, Tokyo,Japan

Completion year　　 : March 2014

Designer　　 : amano design office inc.　Yoshihiro Amano

Structural engineer(façade)　　:Rhythmdesign , Takushi Nakata

Construction firm 　　: Nakano Corporation

Photographer　　 : Nacasa & Partners Inc.

Main use　　 : Store building and Office building

Lot size 　　: 195.40m2

Building area 　　: 121.09m2

Total floor space　 : 573.73m2

Maximum height above rail level　　：9.94m

Structure　　 : Reinforced Concrete Construction

Number of stairs or stories　　：Three stories above groud ande two undergraund story

Main material

Exterior : Stainless steel pipe , Stainless steel plate , Fluorocarbon polymer paint

　　　　　　　Metal trowel finished mortar,Nano water paint

Interior : Wall and ceiling  —Plaster board + synthetic resin emulsion paint ,

        　　　 Flooring materials—Metal trowel finished mortar

 

 

Design Concept

This is a conversion project that totally renovated a 25-year old office building, located on a back street of Omotesando in Tokyo, in order to facilitate commercial functions.

The client requested a design that would have a façade expression differentiated from the surrounding buildings, and that would be a part of future tenants’ branding.

We aimed at a design with a soft expression that would be favorably accepted by passersby, while standing out from the surrounding buildings that tended to have physically hard expressions.

By removing the out-of-fashion decorative frame structure on the existing building frame as much as possible, the primary shape was exposed. Then, metallic louvers were placed by using computer design to add a modern expression that conjures images of soft clothing.

The louvers give a soft expression by connecting three-dimensionally misaligned radiuses. They appear complicated but consist of only two types of radii (700R and 1700R) and straight lines. The louver components are welded to crossed SUS plates, and protrude from the building frame by SUS pipes, resulting in a streamlined workability.

At a time with a feeling of stagnation, we expected the building to create a new relationship with its surroundings, to add variety and a rich expression to the street, and to vitalize the neighborhood.

After completion, we saw many passersby who took photos of this building with a smile.

We also heard that the client was able to maintain a significant rate of return thanks to the façade design, and therefore we believe this project was a success.