A refurbishment project of a flat in a vintage apartment built in 1963. The clients are a couple living with two cats and a dog. We installed a shelf in the living room so that the cats can climb up to the ceiling to create a space where client can live together with their pets. Since the garden is facing south, we tried to create a layout that maximizes the natural light of the garden, and set up a small workspace in the extension of the kitchen with a view of the garden. The interior uses the same tiles as the characteristic existing exterior walls, giving the impression that the outdoor environment continues inside. By trying to make the best use of the materials remaining in the existing building and the context, we hope to find value that cannot be obtained in new construction.
Unlike existing apartments in the city center, where each room has its own role, by giving as many roles as possible and eliminating the boundaries between rooms, it is possible to find a place to belong in various places. I try to set up a gimmick. We tried to create an open space by using recesses to separate the spaces, with no doors except for the bathroom.
The second store of bath salt shop NEHAN TOKYO. While using the same language as the shop in Aoyama, we have installed large shelves that cover the entire wall so that products can be efficiently displayed in a tight space.
HKICC (Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity) is an art high school in Hong Kong. Unlike conventional high school, it is an art and cultural based educational institution of which its tutors are mainly designers, artists and creatives. In addition to general school facilities, the space also contains programs such as a cinema, a theatre, recording rooms, galleries and a workshop studio. Art and Design related events are often held in the school after class and on weekends.
We were approached to update the existing building built in 90s by local archicect, Rocco Yim, according to the recent required updates to the school such as a main gate, green areas, gallery and some rejuvination of the more temopral spaces. Following the tradition of educational pedagogy, we have brought students and tutors together during design and construction processes
In the inital phase, starting from a corridor, we ran a photo collage workshop with students to which students were asked to capture their personal memory of the corridor spaces throughout the school and using these images to inform a design strategy. The artistic process helped to give a alternative respone to how the corridor could be activated.
In the inital phase, starting from a corridor, we ran a photo collage workshop with students to which students were asked to capture their personal memory of the corridor spaces throughout the school and using these images to inform a design strategy. The artistic process helped to give a alternative respone to how the corridor could be activated.
The second phase was the design of an exhibition, “Practice in dialogue 対話之練習”, which was an introduction of the new blend architectural practice and educational workshops. We were planned to design our first prototype, a cottage, which we thought could insert a primitive village social life into the 90’s concrete school. Residing in Hong Kong for one and half month, we worked alongside students and artists to build the cottage prototype as a new space for working and gathering in the school. During the making process, we collected and recycled materials from different locations in close proximity. Collaborating with local carpenters, “Coutou Woodworking Studio 草途木研社”, we produced the timber cladding from trees felled during to a strong typhoon that year. For the roof shingles, we created from recycled plastic bottle caps with another artist group, “Gauu1up”.
Unlike the classic design and build project, the architectural project became and educational system in which we were able to gather many people from different locations and cultural backgrounds through an primitive way of working. Working and inspiring collaboration with students, artists, tutors, cleaners, or even friends from different countries, it has provided an new methodology for undertaking architectural intervetions inspired by primitive working social lifes.
Now we are moving on the third phase which is a new entrance contains guardhouse and gates.
We designed a two-family house in Fujinomiya City, which is located at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
Each room is arranged in a rectangular, house-shaped volume with walls intersecting in a single stroke.
There are two openings for each of the private rooms, so there are no dead ends.
The single-stroke wall is laid out not only indoors but also outdoors, and I thought that it would be a garden for each room and an opportunity to find a place outdoors. It is also his role as an approach and a blindfold to the public road.
Since the walls intersect the rectangular space, there are no corridors, and each space can be used according to the situation. I think we were able to create a situation like a small village that took in the entire site.
This is not only architectural design project but also we engaged local people by researching and consulting the comunity. Importance for activating the city is undesrtanding the history and culture and people there. We un- desrtand this project is related a thread along the old street.
We focused on fermentation food culture there, such as miso, soy souce ,etc. One of the projectsGAAiU1sUP converting into the food Lab in residence from the old Kimono shop and storages. We also held some workshops. One of them is that we opened up closed win- dows by refurbishment of old shops and turn lights for making the street more active.
This is not only architectural design project but also we engaged local people by researching and consulting the comunity. Importance for activating the city is undesrtanding the history and culture and people there. We un- desrtand this project is related a thread along the old street.
We focused on fermentation food culture there, such as miso, soy souce ,etc. One of the projectsGAAiU1sUP converting into the food Lab in residence from the old Kimono shop and storages. We also held some workshops. One of them is that we opened up closed win- dows by refurbishment of old shops and turn lights for making the street more active.
This refurbishment project is a rental space in five-story apartment building located between Sendagaya Station and Yoyogi Station in Tokyo.
The existing building was built in 1968. The interior space has been refurbished several times by different owners. The first time we visited site, the internal concrete structure and wall were mostly revealed with patchwork-like marks from previous wall painting and wall paper which tell the story of the room.
Instead of attaching new wall on existing wall, we proposed “gaps” between existing and new walls. The gaps thus can be functioned as different small storages, desk space, entrance and even bedroom. In addition, the new walls become frames to capture the existing textures. By doing so, the living space is read as a non-divided spacious space. Those gaps can be used unexpectedly in many ways according to user’s ingenuity.
The project is a conversion from automobile material shop to a hair salon located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. The client is a designer couple who decided to return to their own hometown after working in Tokyo. With the contribution and aim of encouraging the communication with local community, a single building can be a new small centre of local community.
Since the site is located in 市街化調整区域 (Urbanization Control Areas), where it is generally planned to be a countryside with limited urban facilities except existing buildings, the project should take its limitation but advantage to complement its social importance to the rural conditions. Therefore, the project is more than a hair salon, but it is a small living room to the local community.
Within limited budgets, the construction was minimal but allowing the maximum flexibility. In order to create a wider space, the internal walls were demolished, but kept existing structural column and placed rotatable mirrors. The space can be adjusted by different needs of hair care servises. The space can be layout differently according to different group size of people, such as family, couple or alone. Due to its flexibility, the space is also inviting the local people to hanging around to this small living room.
We are asked to design a first physical store in Yurakucho, Tokyo for a skincare brand which previously was an online organic lifestyle brand.
Before opening the first physical store, the project started with designing an temporary pop- up store in order to carring out its branding concepts to wider customers. Through the direct contact with customers, the branding are embeded in the furniture and display surfaces made by chosen natural materials and new “key materials” which are carried out by bespoked terazzo tiles containing the mixture of the brand’s recycled brown bins, anvolcano stone and brass bar. Due to the nature of temporary pop-up store, we designed demountable furnitures and stacking surfaces that can be spread out to different locations and future physical shops.
After gaining branding success from the pop-up store, we are asked for designing the physical sotre by reconstructing the former pop-up store. The materials and ideas has been carried and embedded into further architectural elements such as sinks, water pump, cashier, and display plinths. In other words, the whole branding concept is relying on its architectural system that vistors are experiencing.
