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Architects: Saisei Kenchiku Laboratory
- Area: 421 m²
- Year: 2018
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Photographs:Kenta Hasegawa
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Lead Architects: Saiseikenchiku Laboratory
Text description provided by the architects. Inherits the memories of four 60-year-old wooden buildings and a hand-made garden into the future. This is a revitalization(SAISEI) project of a group of wooden buildings left behind in the middle of Omotesando, Tokyo. The four buildings had been repeatedly extended and reconstructed without the certification as required by the Building Standard Law. However, there was the owner's strong desire to keep these buildings. The handmade garden surrounded by a group of buildings and a Tsukiyama (handmade mountain) shut out the surrounding noise and created a unique atmosphere that was both powerful and nostalgic, as if they were like a hideaway left in the middle of Omotesando, one of the most modern districts in Tokyo.
The building was completed as a new construction in 1957. Still, many parts of the building did not comply with current laws due to several extensions, renovations, and changes made in the Building Standards Law. We carefully surveyed the site since there were no original building certificates or drawings. We obtained proof that the original four buildings on one site could be regarded as one building on one site by extending the eaves and reducing the volume of the building, and we made corrections to all the illegal parts.
The original plan was to tear down the illegal building and build a new one; however, while crossing legal, structural, and environmental boundaries, and by expanding and renovating the building, we finally got the certification required by the Building Standards Law, which was issued for the first in 60 years. While it is said that architecture is the most beautiful when completed, we placed importance on carrying over everything from the layout of the buildings with the garden to the owner's memories. We took on the complex and rich situation created by the site's four old buildings and handmade gardens.
By giving it a new interpretation to the legally required rectification, we aimed to create an architecture that is connected to the history experienced by the owner and the buildings. Minagawa Village is a platform for accepting a variety of relationships that can be created in the future. The décor of each house has left us and has been updated by the residents.
The free space in the center of the building is rented out by the hour and offered to tenants free of charge for the rest of the time. There are annual events such as the Summer Matsuri (festival) and Mochi-pounding. What's SAISEI? SAISEI is a core concept of how we face architecture. SAISEI does not mean to preserve and extend the life of everything through renovation. Regardless of any method used, such as new construction or renovation of existing buildings, "SAISEI" is a state of rebirth in which the memories and culture of a place are carefully read and understood, and the atmosphere and atmosphere of the place are inherited.
