Behind the crumbling exterior of a 100-yr-previous cowshed in Japan’s Tokushima Prefecture, architect Issei Suma has inserted a glass and steel workplace for a computing firm .
Tokyo-primarily based Suma created the 40-square-metre construction to house a satellite office for an IT firm also based in the capital. Located on the other side of the nation in a rural village, it offers staff an escape from the pressures of city lifestyle.
“Despite the fact that the office is situated in the rural district the place the unspoilt landscape is still maintained, the office is entirely equipped with the exact same digital infrastructure as the principal workplace in Tokyo, leaving no tension to the workers,” stated the architect.
Named Koya, the office sits within the grounds of a farmhouse that has been abandoned given that 2010.
Rather than demolishing any of the site’s ageing buildings, Suma chose to insert the office into the previous cow shed – an approach also used for a personal art gallery on an previous English farm.
The fragility of the century-old framework created it not possible to place any additional strain on it, so a new self-supporting and watertight structure was merely extra within.
Steel I-beams type the structural framework. Each these and the unique wooden beams are visible, offering a clear distinction between previous and new.
“Whilst the workplace is built within the cowshed, the superbly aged structure is left untouched,” stated Suma. “The steel structure sits detached from the cowshed, but in the situation of main disaster it functions as a keystone, preventing the a hundred-yr-old structure from collapsing.”
A workspace and a meeting room were developed inside of the shed. The two rooms feature insulated glass walls and ceilings, allowing occupants to see the old construction behind.
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Flooring in the two rooms is produced up of huge concrete panels, with a heating technique concealed beneath. There is also a stainless-steel desk included in the larger of the two rooms, which functions as the workspace.
“Roof leaks do not bother us any longer, and heat and air conditioning generate a relaxed function surroundings,” extra Suma.
The architect established his studio in 2011. Ahead of that, he worked for distinct studios in New York, with projects which includes a property layout for Ai Weiwei’s Ordos a hundred venture.
Photography is by Yasuyuki Deguchi.
