오늘 소개하는 건물은 일본 아이치현에 위치한 5층 규모 사무용 건물로서, 이름은 'Tetoto'라고 지어졌다. 이 의미는 '손을 맞잡다'는 뜻으로 디자이너-고객-계약자 그리고 모든 사람들이 손을 잡고 시너지 효과를 발휘할 수 있는 건물이 되었으면 하는 바램을 담았다.
외벽에 불규칙하게 배치된 창을 특징으로 한 이 건물은 최소한의 내부 마감재를 보완하여 풍화 효과에 견딜수 있도록 설계된 흰색 광촉매 페인트로 마감하였다.
Oblong windows with pivoting glazing cut through the striking white walls of this minimal five-storey office block in Japan's Aichi Prefecture, designed by local architects Yoshihiro Kato Atelier.
The concrete building, named Tetote Note, is located on a tight 100-square-metre site in the city of Nagoya and provides collaborative workspaces for designers and their clients.
"In Japanese, 'tetote' literally means hand-in-hand," studio founder Yoshihiro Katotold Dezeen. "I wanted Tenote Tote to be the building where designers, clients, contractors, and all the people involved, hold hands with each other and work together with synergy."
The building is finished in a white photocatalytic paint designed to withstand the effects of weathering, while complementing the minimal interior finishes.
The pared-back interiors are intended to draw focus to the exposed board-marked concrete walls, and to accentuate the irregularly placed oblong windows and their pivoting glazing.
"Attached just at the surface of the outer wall, these windows give the impression of flatness viewed from the outside, while the thickness of the walls further emphasises the oblong shape, capturing more random shadows and light," said Kato.
The austere rooms within provide a variety of workspaces, from a communal studio to a meeting room enclosed by a curving glass wall.
A secluded workspace on the fourth floor also has access to a generously sized roof terrace overlooking the busy street below.
Each space features minimal furniture pieces teamed with various flexible design features that allows its function to change, such as storage on wheels and a sliding door between the first floor meeting rooms.
To flood the depths of the building with sufficient natural light, the floors are all connected by a skylit industrial-style staircase, which is enclosed by glass walls.
"The steps of the steel staircases are punched through with oblong holes to allow more light to reach all the way to the bottom floor," said the architect.
Yoshihiro Kato Atelier also incorporated custom-built lights that are intended to reduce the office's energy consumption, while also providing portable torches in case of an emergency.
"The lighting stands are mounted with three LED flashlights that can be removed and used as portable flashlights in the event of an emergency," Kato explained. "The batteries are rechargeable and reusable."
from dezeen