- Area: 1883 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Jumpei Suzuki
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Lead Architects: Norihisa Kawashima
Architecture as the "keystone" of environmental regeneration - KANAME NO MORI is a newly constructed commercial building facing the Palm shopping arcade in Musashikoyama, Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo. The project is envisioned to be an economic success as a commercial complex, to contribute to the district revitalization, and to create a healthy ecosystem of soil, water, and air. We believe that architecture should play a key role in the regeneration of the environment.
The building is placed on the northwest side to create a margin of about 2 m on the south side, and the second-floor wall is set back another 3.5 meters, creating a staircase connecting the first, second, and rooftop floors, creating a three-dimensional path that leads from the arcade to the street behind the building. In addition, in the triangular space on the north side of the site, an old shrine was preserved and restored, and a one-story wooden shrine office, which also serves as the building management office, is built facing the shrine. This allows half of the tenants to face not only the arcade but also the green pathway, enhancing the commercial value of the building. In addition, by opening a multi-level pathway to the street behind the building and to the company to the north, a new flow of people is created, and ventilation and daylight within the site have improved.
The exterior work at the base and rooftop is constructed using the Takada method, which retains and purifies rainfall and recharges groundwater. The scattered mounds were planted with oak, sawtooth oak, white oak, and other saplings. Trees and vegetation will eventually cover the entire site, creating a cool, comfortable, and humid thermal environment. Rainwater is channeled down a gradient and will flow on the path and on the opposite side. A parapet was not installed to maintain water flow and to prevent the gutter from clogging. Instead, L-shaped metal fittings were installed at 900mm intervals on top of L-shaped angles at the top, and thick branches were fastened to the L-shaped metal fittings with iron wire. The exterior wall directly below this was plastered with soil left over from excavation at the site. Rainwater runs down through this wall.
Earthquake resistance, fire prevention, waterproofing, thermal insulation, and airtightness required of urban architecture are built and met by typical artificial materials such as concrete, steel, and glass. However, the materials used for interior and exterior plastering and exterior construction are natural materials such as soil, stone, charcoal, straw, fallen leaves, and twigs. The soil used was excavated soil left over from the construction process, and the branches, twigs, and fallen leaves were all generated during the maintenance of the garden and forest. These natural materials were hand-constructed without the use of heavy machinery, and no irrigation system was installed. This is a proposal for a new way of architecture in a densely populated city, in which the materials are nurtured to become the "keystone" of environmental regeneration by the power of nature, life, and human hands.
