Imaizumi-chō Office — Tochigi: a low roof among farm sheds

Concept

A familiar silhouette

A gable roof and deep eaves, common in the area, are reworked in a modern way. The low, horizontal roof answers the buildings around it, as if it had always been there.

Visitors sense people at work as they enter, but not the clutter of work: the building keeps a comfortable distance between those who work and those who visit.

01 · Work

Window seats, books and booths

The office floor is shoes-off, not to rest but to switch gently into work. Window seats, bookshelves, a break space and private booths flow into each other, so focus, chance talk and short breaks follow naturally through the day.

02 · Time

Built to change

Building services are easy to update and the structure is simple, because companies change. By day the roof settles into the landscape; at night the lights show the work to the town.