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Architects: note architects
- Area: 94 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Kenta Hasegawa
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Manufacturers: AGC, Odelic, Panasonic, Sanwa, TEORI, Toto
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Construction: Nomura-Sanko, Yasuhisa Seki
Text description provided by the architects. The office of a locally-based construction company is located near a shopping street with a nostalgic atmosphere. In planning, the client hoped that the office would have a relationship with the local community, such as being open to the local community and creating a casual atmosphere in which everyone feels welcome.
The second floor of the existing rental housing was set back by 910mm (half of the Japanese module = Hangen). In addition, an investigation of the building’s frame revealed that there were some spaces penetrating the building, such as hallways and closets, where columns were lined up 910mm wide. We designed this “910mm wide space (called “Hangen space”)” as a “tangent line’’ that connects to the city and planned to build diverse relationships with the city full of change.
The “Hangen tangent” can change its shape freely depending on its relationship with the city.
If it is in contact with a road, it becomes an intermediate area such as an Engawa (Japanese wood deck). When you sit in the engawa, the viewing height is different from the meeting seats and gallery, allowing each person to spend time freely. Light is brought in from the polycarbonate top lights at the back of the office space, and the city can be seen out through the windows. Workers spend their break time in this “Hangen tangent” like outside. In a central city where buildings are densely packed, it felt special to be able to see the sky at the top of the “Hangen tangent” stairs. The part of the building that had been extended by 910mm width was dismantled, and the resulting garden was named the “Hangen Garden.”
Windows were installed on both sides of the space so that the outside could penetrate through near the meeting seats and the center of the co-working space. Even when you’re working, your mind suddenly drifts to the city.
For a long time, we have built connections with others by drawing tangents. Engawa and Noren (Japanese curtains) can also be considered traditional tangent shapes. A relationship with others was created by dismantling the functional “Hangen space” and reconstructing it as a highly flexible “Hangen tangent”.
There may also be ways to open the door physically by it full opening, or through a program such as a cafe. In this town where nostalgia still lingers, I feel it's appropriate to open to just touching, like an old man sitting on the Engawa after a walk, unrelated to the workers.
