Description
The apartment building is part of a large scale public housing reconstruction project located about 15 minutes from Gifu City by car. Four women architects were selected under the coordination of Japanese architect Arata Isozaki to execute the projects. This L-shaped Wing designed by architect Kazuyo Sejima sits on the south-east part of the site where the idea for the overall layout of the development was to run the buildings around the perimeter.
The use of ‘room’ as a modular building block is not difficult to understand in terms of standardization of major building components in any large scale housing development project. The basic principle of minimizing construction waste at the design level is achieved without doubt.
However, standardization of components and units in the design of high-rise buildings often results in undesirable monolithic volumes particularly in high density urban development. The solution to such a problem demonstrates the design possibilities which seldom surface in our surroundings. In this housing project, the building form has been twisted to run around the perimeter of the site, and the resultant form becomes less massive as in the case of a plain slab. The monolithic and monotonous characters in modular housing have been further broken down with various elements. Double-height spaces and terraces add characters to and punctuate the elevations in a complex yet rhythmic way.
People
Architect
Civil Engineer
Client
Owner
Time & Place
Status
built
Date
01/05/1996
Address
Gifu, Japan
Specifications
Floors
Floors: 9
Height
Staircases
Units per Staircase
Units per Floor
Units
Unit Area
Plot Area
Floor Area Typical
Area Total
Podium Area
Courtyard Area
Ground floor Area
Residents
Parking Spaces
Taxonomy
Organisation
Material
Structure
Usage
Tags