We were asked to design an office for a metal design and construction company in Kyoto.

There is a scenic policy in Kyoto that focuses on the future vision of Kyoto 100 years from now. The project is located in what the policy designated as a “traditional Kyoto beautification district” which contains wooden houses from the Meiji period and aims to keep new structures in harmony with the existing historical architecture.

The form of this project was greatly influenced by three elements of this policy:
1.Roof slopes must be within a range of 3:10 to 4.5:10, and eaves must extend 60cm past the exterior wall (90cm for buildings exceeding 10 meters in height).
2.Exterior walls facing the road must have eaves that extend at least 60cm on each floor.
3.Exterior walls facing the road on the third floor or higher must be set back at least 90cm from lower floors.

Because the designated volume of the building could not be used fully if the eaves extended 90cm, it was necessary for us to keep the building height under 10 meters. We offset the site boundaries, designed the roof, extended the eaves 60cm, set back the third-floor exterior wall 90cm, and configured the building envelope.

The 90cm setback for the third-floor exterior wall creates a slip in the positioning of columns for the first and second floors. By utilizing beam string structures that distribute the load to the existing columns, the problem of columns running through the lower floors is resolved. The beam string structures that run continuously through the second-floor office space make visible the client company’s technology and its solutions, which serves to convey the company’s core principles to its customers.