Architects:G architects studio

Area:126 m²

Year:2021

Photographs:Daisuke Shima

Design Team: Ryohei Tanaka, Kazuki Nishimura

Client: GRAPH Co. Ltd.

City: Kasai

Country: Japan

This is a relocation project for GRAPH Co.Ltd, a design agency run by designer and artist Kazunari Kitagawa.

The new office space is situated at Hill Side Terrace which was created by Pritzker Prize winner Architect Fumihiko Maki. It is a complex composed of private houses, stores, and offices. The office is next to a mound where a small shrine stands, and where the impressive, beautiful green of the preserved trees can be viewed.

Mr. Kitagawa went to a school designed by the architect. He decided to move into this building because he liked the atmosphere which reminded him of the school. Unfortunately, the space was repeatedly renovated before Mr. Kitagawa decided to relocate, and had become something that no longer reflected the architect's hallmark touch.

The client's main business is graphic design. So we thought it would be logical to keep the elements as simple as possible, and decided to use only the white color throughout the space. We completed the design by installing furniture in the space. The result is aimed at paying the building and its originality maximum respect.

After completion, the client placed four pairs of slippers in four different colors in the all-white entrance. When entering the office, visitors are thus encouraged to take off their shoes - as is the custom in Japanese homes. The impressive scene gives a tense atmosphere to the all-white entrance. It might even lead you to imagine that there is a "kekkai" (boundary zone at a shinto shrine) at the entrance.