Architects:waiwai

Area:5700m²

Year:2020

Photographs:Koji Kobayashi/Spiral

Manufacturers:AutoDesk,Lumion,Adobe,Google,Mutsu Forestory Association,NIPPON STEEL,TOSHIBA

Lead Architects:Kazuma Yamao,

Engineering:ASA,EOS plus, Morimura Sekkei, Akira Suzuki

Landscape:GA Yamazaki

Contractor:Kumagai Construction Company Limited

Design Team:Kazuma Yamao, Juri Haramiishi, Yuki Nakamura

Clients:Sakuragikai

City:Mutsu

Country:Japan

Text description provided by the architects. Situated in Aomori, on the northern edge of Japan’s main island, this elderly center was designed to bring the natural landscapes which includes heavy snowfall in the winter and the tree farms which exist in the area with the sensitive needs of the residents.

Although there are many debates about Japan’s aging population and that the elderly rely on the care of public facilities rather than that of the family. To give each elderly inhabitant a sense of individuality, the rooms on the first floor are designed to slip into the natural surrounding allowing the inhabitants to enjoy the scenery among the trees and especially the heavy white snow during the winter.

This finger type radial layout is also a design result that takes into consideration the comfort of the nursing home employees and ensures their ability to carry out their care of the elderly in an efficient and practical manner. Hence the resulting form is one that brings nature in between the rooms as well as meets the functional requirements.

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Project location

Address:Mutsu, Prefectura de Aomori, Japan