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Architects: Yoshihiro Kato Atelier
- Area: 74 m²
- Year: 2012
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Photographs:Nacasa & Partners Inc.
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Manufacturers: NIHON DEGY, PIALEX TECHNOLOGIES, Panasonic
Text description provided by the architects. The square and pure white building located on a 100 square meter site is called TETOTE NOTE. TETOTE means handshake in Japanese, and it signifies the collaboration among the designers, the clients, and those involved in creating. The first to fifth floors are used as an in-house studio, and the simple arrangement of oblong circular windows in the flat outer surface is impressive.
These windows have two ways of opening—vertically and horizontally. Attached just at the surface of the outer wall, these windows give the impression of flatness viewed from the outside, while the thickness of the walls further emphasizes the oblong shape, capturing more random and active shadow and light. In this way the structure has the impression of duality, with a rougher interior, and it represents a stronger relationship through space and minimal detail, without incorporating a great deal of design information.
Glass is used for the roofs of the stairway shafts connecting the floors, shedding light on the walls of each floor, and this light changes over time. The steps of the steel staircases are punched through with oblong holes to allow more light to reach all the way to the bottom floor. The exposed finish of the stairway shafts feature a wood grain pattern in the concrete giving a rough and different expression and a presentation with more light. The concept of the lighting stands is another vital design of this studio. The lighting stands are mounted with three LED flashlights that can be removed and used as portable flashlights in the event of an emergency. The design of the stands incorporates candle stands converted into LED. Flashlights are mounted even in the lighting stands made for the upper areas. The batteries are rechargeable and reusable. These designs incorporate the concepts of reducing energy consumption and considering disaster prevention.
