Located in an industrial area beside Tokyo Bay, the building is used as a chemical research facility for a materials development brand and comprises a U-shaped block with a horizontal slice through its middle.

This slice offers clues about the internal arrangement of the building, which is based on the abstraction of a linear plan. KINO Architects planned a route through a reception, an auditorium, meeting rooms and laboratories, then stretched it through all three floors to create a loop from one ground floor entrance to another.

Offices and meeting rooms required the most privacy, so the architects located them on the middle floor where they can be separated if necessary.

Meanwhile, laboratories can be found on the ground and second floors and feature a modular grid of power inlets, drainage and water points, enabling a variety of different desk layouts.

The architects named the building Spiralab, as a reference to its looping interior layout. "The spiral shape responds to the three requests: research efficiency, high-security and comfort," they explained. "Also, the spiral form becomes the key to the last request - symbolism. We think that true symbolism of architecture comes from the architecture itself; designed through logical thinking."

The earthquake-proof structure is described as a cross between a rigid frame and a truss framework, with angled columns that can take both horizontal and vertical stresses. A curtain wall structure is constructed in front and clad with concrete panels to give the building its smooth grey facades.

Japanese studio KINO Architects have offices in both Tokyo and Shiga. Previous projects by the firm include a house with four attics and a concrete residence with views of a nearby castle. See more stories about KINO Architects on Dezeen.

Photography is by Hiroyuki Hirai and Daici Ano.

Here's some more information from the architects:

Spiralab

A "Spiral" fills the needs.

This building is a new chemical research laboratory for a world leading materials development corporation. It is on a large site in an industrial area near Tokyo bay.

We responded to the request for "research efficiency" by using flexible experimental rooms where researchers can adjust their research space according to their needs. To the requests for "high security" and "comfort" we responded with high-security, and high-comfort offices and break areas throughout the entire building. We responded to the request for "symbolism" with symbolic architecture that helps promote the company's abilities to the world.

First, we horizontally aligned the main rooms: laboratories, an office, meeting rooms, an auditorium and a reception room along a common corridor and put the guest entrance and the researchers entrance at either end. By adopting a plan with a common corridor, the clients can freely select doorways and move partitions in the experimental rooms according to their needs. The security door is easily adjustable due to the linear shape of the plan and the separation of guest and researcher entrances.

Next, we transformed this linear plan in three-dimensions. The office and the meeting rooms need the highest confidentiality, so these were separated from the linear plan. The linear plan spirals around the office and meeting rooms. As a result the office and the meeting rooms are untouched by other rooms on every side, horizontally.

Vertically these rooms are in the centre of the spiral. Therefore the access to the experimental rooms on the upper and lower floors becomes easy. Additionally while these rooms have high-security the walls are transparent, giving a comfortable open-air atmosphere.

The break areas were made by widening the main corridor. As a result, researchers can take a break while changing rooms. In addition, the linear break areas spirals around the court yard. Therefore, this vertical plan allows the researchers to see the court yard from various points of view.

Architect: Masahiro Kinoshita / KINO architects
Location: Chiba, Japan
Principal use: research laboratory
Structure: steel

Scale of building: 3 stories
Site area: 600 ha
Building area: about 1300 sqm
Total floor area: about 3000 sqm

Above: site plan

Above: ground floor plan - click above for larger image

Above: first floor plan - click above for larger image

Above: second floor plan - click above for larger image

Above: cross section one

Above: cross section two

Above: long section

Above: plan concept

Above: earthquake-proof structure

The post Spiralab by
KINO Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

This house by Masahiro Kinoshita of KINO Architects comprises four blocks branching off from a central living and dining room, with an attic above each one.

The  house in Fukushima has three storage lofts and a fourth that's used as a play den for the client's children, accessed by a ladder.

The branching blocks below contain bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen, surrounded by exterior terraces that are sheltered by the overhanging roof.

An arched opening through the north elevation creates an entrance to one of these terraces from the street.

Other Japanese houses by KINO architects on Dezeen includes a house in Tokyo with balconies on each level and a concrete residence with a top floor observatory - see all the projects by KINO Architects here and see more stories about Japanese houses here.

Photography is by Daici Ano.

Here are some more details from Kinoshita:

Branch House

This house is in a residential area of Fukushima prefecture. In this location there are many areas of vacant land and parking lots.

The house is for a four person family; a married couple with two children.

In this design, the living and dining rooms, where the family gathers, branch off to the main bedroom, children’s room, kitchen, bath room and guest room.

Each room has its own loft space. These lofts supplement the function of the rooms.

The parent’s possessions are stored in the loft of the main bedroom, bathroom supplies are in the loft of the bathroom and guest bedding is stored in the loft of the guest room.

The children’s loft provides a play area.

To put the rooms branching off in this way gives good lighting and ventilation and a moderate distance between rooms. The four branches also become a core of power to resist earthquakes.

Internally the site is divided into four gardens. These gardens can change in function in the future to include, for example, a BBQ garden, and a pool garden.

The house was designed not only for use now, but also to expand with the family as their lifestyle changes.

Architect: Masahiro Kinoshita / KINO architects
Location: Fukushima, Japan

Principal use: private residence
Structure: wooden

Site area: 344.26 sq m
Scale of building: 1 stories

Building area: 120.61 sq m
Total floor area: 176.70 sq m

Click above for larger image

Completion: 2010.08

Click above for larger image

The post Branch House by KINO Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

KINO Architects of Japan have completed this four-storey timber and concrete house in Tokyo with balconies on each level.

The Tokyo Balconies house has been designed to simultaneously comply with the height regulations of two zoning areas, as the north sits in a residential zone and the south side is in a commercial zone.

The house has a large balcony on the top floor to the north, overlooking the skyline of Shinjuku.

More projects in Tokyo on Dezeen »
More by KINO Architects on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Daici Ano.

The following is from the architects:

In Tokyo where building density is high both the “Geographical map”, defining the undulating land, and “Town planning and zoning regulations” have a large influence on construction. This house is on a site where the features of these two geographical maps come together successfully.

This site is off a busy shopping street in the middle of Tokyo. The southern part of the site belongs to a “commerce” zone, and the northern part to a “1st priority residential” zone. To the north of the site the residential zone continues. These two different zones have different regulations in regard to the height of buildings.

The design proposes to make the best use of building on the boundary of two zones. The design included four floors with a large balcony to the north on the top floor. This balcony could also take advantage of the geography to the north giving an outstanding view of the skyscrapers of Shinjuku.

The balcony feature from the top floor is repeated on each floor; internal space is enhanced with outside balcony space. It is too difficult to provide a garden in the super-high density Tokyo environment; also balconies are not included in the calculation of building volume. Therefore many balconies were used to produce an urban garden.

The balconies have two additional roles: to communicate with the surroundings and to obstruct a direct view from the road. The balconies gradually connect the inside and outside.

Architect : Masahiro Kinoshita / KINO architects location : Tokyo, Japan

Principal use : private residence

Structure : wooden, partly reinforced concrete

Scale of building : 1basement and 3 stories

Site area : 49.65 m²

Building area : 31.12 m²

Total floor area : 103.88 m²

Completion : 2010.05

See also:

.

SN.House by atelierA5	Himeji Observatory House by KINO architects	House Shimouma by Kazuya Saito Architects

The post Tokyo Balconies by KINO Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Masahiro Kinoshita of KINO architects has completed a house in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, designed to afford views towards the nearby castle from the third floor living room. 

Called Himeji Observatory House, the three-storey project was conceived as a concrete rectangular volume divided in half.

Each volume was shifted to accommodate parking spaces and twisted towards the castle.

More about KINO architects on Dezeen:

Corner house (March 2009)
Guest House Tokyo (September 2008)

Photographs are by Daici Ano.

The text below is from Masahiro Kinoshita:

“A modern living space for observing Himeji castle that integrates smoothly with the surrounding historical neighborhood.”

This building is a private house with an attached office, directly northwest of Himeji castle. The site’s depth is longer than its width. There is also a building adjacent to this house which obscures Himeji castle at ground level. One thing to note is that even though there are modern buildings in this city, this private residence is surrounded by a traditional “castle town”, with many historical buildings, houses, and monuments.

We were petitioned by the client to design a living space with the following three requests:

• To be able to see Himeji castle from the living room,
• To be able to park five cars, with three of those stalls as the guest parking space and,
• To incorporate a garden where laundry can be hung out to dry and to allow their dogs to run about freely.

Therefore, the theme of this project was to respond to the client's requests while mediating the differences between the historical buildings and the new residence.

The solution to the theme was created by using the shape of a twisted rectangular structure and was designed with the following steps:

• The building was designed at a distance from the street to make the necessary parking space.
• A rectangular structure was basically cut in half, with each half shifted in opposite directions to make a “staggered” form, which allows enough space for the private garden.
• The walls of the staggered structure were then slightly twisted and lifted in order to incorporate a view of Himeji castle.

In architectural terms, this process creates a building structure with four hyperbolic parabolic walls (refer to concept model). As the walls increase in height, the overall area and volume of each floor increases as well, giving the house a more spacious atmosphere.

In addition, when compared to a tall, large building that is adjacent to low-rise historical structures, the Himeji Observatory House adapts much better to its surroundings because the twisted, staggered shape reduces any extraneous volume that would otherwise impede on the overall appearance of the neighborhood.

Furthermore, as the building ages and the concrete walls start to weather, the Himeji Observatory House will develop more character - the trees will grow taller, the exterior walls will become weather-stained, and the entire property will slowly harmonize with the rest of the neighbourhood. The modest appearance that comes with age will be similar to the moss-covered stone walls of Himeji castle.

I designed this house as if it were coming to life, stretching its toes in order to see Himeji castle over the canopy of the trees. I hope that the house will reflect the client's attachment to Himeji castle, while also being accepted by the historical town.

Click for larger image

architect :Masahiro Kinoshita / KINO architects
location :Himeji Hyogo Prefecture
principal use :private residence
structure :reinforced concrete
scale of building :3 stories
site area :162.54 m²
building area :56.03m²
total floor area :155.13m²
completion :2009.05
Photo: Daici Ano

The post Himeji Observatory House by KINO architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Masahiro Kinoshita of KINO architects and Yu Sakuma of SAK architects have designed a small house in the suburbs of Tokyo.

The four-storey house is shared by the owner and a tenant, who occupies the second floor.

Photographs by Hiroyuki Hirai.

Here's some more information from the architects:

--

"Guest House Tokyo"

Small piece of land / Fragment of a dream
The site is in a suburb of Tokyo. This is a high-density residential area. The site is only about 46 square meters. Before, there was a detached house on this site. In Tokyo, this size of house is not rare. It's called "Small house". This type of house was the dream for a nuclear household. They wanted a detached house. But, recently the nuclear household is decreasing, while a one-person household is increasing in Japan.

We have taken the old nuclear household dream and adjusted it to today's one-person's household reality. This project is one of them. We built a small apartment on this site. Basement floor, loft, and the first floor are the owner's house. She lives alone there, and she rented out the second floor for one person.

The comfort of living alone
The owner requested a living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, guest room, terrace, garage, bath, toilet, storage and rented room. First, we felt that we couldn't fit all these rooms in this small building. In these cases, we usually follow a standard procedure. We reduce the number of rooms by making one multi purpose room.

However, this time, we did it took another way, because we heard the following opinion from the owner "I want my home to be cozy." This opinion inspired the following result. We reduced the size of each room. In this way, we could fit all the rooms in this building, and, we could create the comfort of living alone.

Architects: Masahiro Kinoshita / KINO architects, Yu Sakuma / SAK architects
Principal use: apartment
Structure: wooden, partly reinforced concrete
Scale of building: 1basement and 2 stories
Structural engineer : Yasushi Moribe

The post Guest House Tokyo by Masahiro Kinoshita
and Yu Sakuma appeared first on Dezeen.