Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants

YANAGIKOJI SOUTH CORNER RESTAURANTS

Rei Mitsui Architects

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Yasuyuki Takagi

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Rei Mitsui

CLIENT
Toshin Development co.ltd.

CONSTRUCTION
WATANABE TOMI CORPORATION

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, Daiko, Koizumi, Panasonic, Koiwa Kanaami, Kunishiro Taika Kogyosho, ModuleX, Seiho Metal Industry, WORLD KOGYO, Yamada shomei lighting, Yoshimoti Seisakujo

MEP ENGINEER
Chiku Engineering Consultants

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Ryotaro Sakata Structural Engineers

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Arata Takemoto Design

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION
ONOTSUKA co.ltd

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
CHAOS co.

AREA
756 m²

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Setagaya City, Japan

CATEGORY
Restaurant, Mixed Use Architecture

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat

Text description provided by architect.

Located in the area of Futako-Tamawa, Tokyo, the multitenant building stands in the alleyway called, the "Yanagi-koji".

The site, a joint of 3 separate plots, reflects a traditional characteristic of the area. The building incorporates this characteristic where each floor is occupied by 3 different restaurants. 

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat

A corridor is set in the center of the building with staircases located at both the front and back of the building creating an alley-like access route within the building.

The main structure is made of wood. Instead of using laminated timber as commonly done, untreated timber slats are stacked and screwed together to create large columns and beams.

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat

Though the idea of bundled timber slats seems simple, the rough and raw materiality of wood has a powerful aesthetic presence, reflecting back at traditional Japanese architecture and acknowledges the characteristics of the town.

An architects' wish is to create a building that will be loved throughout the generations. In order to endure the change of interior and exterior, and to continue to be used beyond the age, we thoroughly pursued how the bones of the building should be.

The challenge was the client's request: getting used to the city from the start. It’s new, but doesn’t look new; be looks like used for decades; not nostalgic, be contemporary; the client's request was like Zen questions.

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat

The answer was to design each element of the building, one at a time. First the structure, then the walls, the windows, stairs, railing, and lights and so on in that order.

The key was to add layers and layers to the design of the building without looking back at the initial ideas or designs, in other words to keep moving forward with the design.

The elements that make up this commercial building are, casted iron, round corner window frames, bricks that were scheduled for disposal used to build the walls, suspended stainless steel net-like blinds,copper lamp shades made through metal lathing process, accentuating color schemes.

"Yanagi-koji South Corner" is not a building that can be expressed through a single image.

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat

With layers of details added throughout parts of the building, by focusing on these elements through no set specific scale or perspective do people finally start to get a vague understanding of this building.

The flexible design of the building creates opportunities for future occupants of the building. If the building was complete as itself without room for adaptation and opportunities for change, it fails as a commercial building.

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat

With the adaptability of this building, the occupying stores/ restaurants can create their own space and own unique atmosphere.

With the architectural building alone, the building is simply like a broth (dashi) without any ingredients in them, an incomplete soup; the building needs occupants (ingredients) to be complete as a whole.

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Yasuyuki Takagi


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Nanako Ono
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Nanako Ono
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Nanako Ono


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
© Jérémie Souteyrat


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Section 01
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Section 02


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Main Structure 01
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Main Structure 02


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Facade
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Sketch


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Construction Image

Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Facade Detail


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Layer Beam
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Framing Elevation


Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Ground Floor Plan
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
1st Floor Plan
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
2nd Floor Plan
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Ceiling Plan
Yanagikoji South Corner Restaurants
Site