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Architects: Soeda and associates Architects
- Area: 87 m²
- Year: 2012
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Photographs: Takumi Ota
Text description provided by the architects. This is a new construction of a dispensing pharmacy that is built across a main arterial road from the existing clinic. The site faces the frontal road on the south side, and the site plan has already been decided that related facilities would be located in the following orders from the frontal road to the back of the site; car parking, pharmacy, and the client’s residence.
There is a 1-meter gap between the car parking and the pharmacy, and we build a sturdy wall in between for safety according to the building codes. In addition, we build a 1.8-meter high wall between the pharmacy and the residence to secure privacy. The adjacent clinic is surrounded by deciduous trees. Therefore tons of falling leaves pile up around the site in winter.
In response to such surrounding condition, we come to a conclusion that a simple and large pitched roof would work best to prevent accumulation of falling leaves. Therefore we design the whole building as a pitched-roof volume. Instead of installing windows on the south and the north facades, we decide to provide operable skylights on the roof to let natural light and wind inside. Several skylights are located within the northern portion of the roof with consideration to prevent direct intense sunlight in summer.
The north portion of the roof structure is weakened by the skylights and needs structural reinforcement. Dispensary, staff room, toilets and washrooms are enclosed in pitched-roof volumes of various sizes and are placed under the northern portion so that they also serve as structural reinforcement. Entrance and waiting room are also enclosed in pitched-roof volumes. Overall, the building is designed as nesting structure composed of pitched-roof volumes in various sizes.
