klein dytham architecture: koban

tokyo-based practice klein dytham architecture have recently completed the ‘koban police box’, a police station for the neighborhood of kumamoto, located on the southernmost island of japan. positioned near a new railway stop, this small establishment serves as a local landmark while projecting a friendly image to citizens. a ribbon of perforated steel plate caps the top edge of the building, accentuating its tear-dropped footprint. the inward facing surface is painted with a pastel rainbow gradation which reveals bursts of color through the circular openings as viewers move within the area between the adjacent taxi stands, tram line and neighboring buildings.

all images © kouichi torimura / courtesy of klein dytham architecture

the whimsical graphic wraps around the structure, casting subtle shadows as the sun passes through the holes to dapple the surrounding pavement. the roof cantilevers 3 meters to create a canopy to shelter a patrol car, serving to screen from rainy weather. the pragmatic and functional interior is wrapped with charcoal gray concrete walls, visually receding and letting the playful volume above to stand out.

elevation

elevation

elevation

project info:

location: kasuga kumamoto-shi kumamoto principal use: police box  client: kumamoto prefectural police headquarters architects: klein dytham architecture, astrid klein, mark dytham, yukinari hisayama, makiko okano structural engineer: structured environment ltd., alan burden, yutaka kaneko m&e engineer: junji tanaka m&e office, junji tanaka, shigemori matsumoto general contractor: oda kensetsu, kazuhiro iwanaga total floor area: 143.62m2 design period: feb. 2010 – sep. 2010 construction period: nov. 2010 – mar. 2011 structure: rc structure story: 2 stories above the ground leading materials: 1f external wall: polyurethane enamel paint 2f external steel fence and 2f external wall: fluororesin enamel paint soffit: emulsion paint interior floor: porcelain tile, pvc sheet, wooden floor interior wall: emulsion paint, wallpaper interior ceiling: decorated gypsum-board exterior floor: permeability flat plate, permeability asphalt plantings: zelkova, crape myrtle

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