'studio gotenyama' by chiba manabu architects
all images © chiba manabu architects

japanese firm chiba manabu architects created 'studio gotenyama',

located in shinagawa - ku, tokyo. the box frame building is situated close to
a newly built 10-story high-rise apartment and two-story old, wooden houses. rather
than create a closed environment they incorporated the surrounding buildings into
their design.

the first step was to make a thick wall that contains a lot of storage space, in order
to solve the problem of noise pollution, heat insulation and the storage of personal
belongings. the depth of each window is extremely thick compared to that of an ordinary
window, bringing about a mysterious sense of distance between the interior and the exterior.

as a second step, the window frames were covered in stainless steel to make them like
a kaleidoscope, reflecting countless different views. all sides of the window frames
mirror another scenery: the bottom reflects the sky, the top reflects the earth and the sides
reflect the neighbouring buildings. the window with thickness generates a mixture of virtual
and real images, almost like an illusion.

http://www.chibamanabu.jp


'studio gotenyama'


view from window


interior


view from window


interior


view from window


'studio gotenyama' elevation plan

general info:
project name: studio gotenyama
period of design : april 2005 – december 2006
period of construction: february 2006 – november 2006
location: shinagawa-ku, tokyo
principal use: collective housing
structure: box frame type reinforced concrete
site area: 131.40m2
building area: 80.28m2
total floor area: 277.35m2
stories: 4 stories
design: chiba manabu architects
structural engineers: kanebako structual engineers
mechanical engineers: gn
General contractors: tuboi corporation
producer: toshio hara (director and president of hara museum)
photographer: masao nishikawa