Cheungvogl

KAT-Ohno, Tokyo

photos: courtesy of Cheungvogl

The development site is surrounded by four office buildings,
El lugar de la intervención está rodeado por cuatro edificios
which will be given a consistent appearance by refurbishment
de oficinas, cuyas fachadas se rehabilitarán recurriendo a un
of new cladding systems and upgrading to meet modern
nuevo sistema de cerramientos que unificará su apariencia y
standards. The master plan includes an extension of a new
le proporcionará un aspecto más moderno. El plan previsto
forum to provide flexible spaces for training seminars,
para la zona incluye un anexo para un foro que permita
lectures, exhibitions, film screenings etc. which
espacios flexibles para seminarios, conferencias, exposiciones,
cheungvogl's design proposal is chosen as the winner for the
pases de películas, etc, para el cual la propuesta presentada al
invited competition.
concurso restringido por cheungvogl ha resultado vencedora.

Plato defined 'symposium' as a 'philosophical dialogue, dealing
Para Platón la definición de simposio era la un diálogo
with love and the vision of absolute beauty'. What if the new
filosófico, relativo al amor y a la visión de la belleza absoluta.
place of symposium is less about mass and structure, less
Y si la nueva plaza concediese menos importancia a la masa y
visible and less defined. What if it is a place where speakers
la estructura, a la visibilidad, a la definición… Y si fuese un lugar
and audience can have spontaneous intellectual dialogue in one
donde orador y aundiencia pueden tener un diálogo espontáneo en un
space? Can spontaneity exists without any preconceived
simple espacio... ¿Puede la espontaneidad suceder sin límites
boundaries - where the body can move, speak and think freely.
precisos –donde el cuerpo pueda moverse, hablar y pensar libremente-?

Moving away from the everyday conventional 'meeting rooms'-
audiencia… ¿Es posible la espontaneidad rehuyendo barreras
The world of KAT-Ohno is a place where architecture is
es el de un lugar que evita conceder relevancia a la
reduced.
arquitectura.

Less. So more can happen.
Reducir. Para que algo pueda ocurrir.

Less mass. Below Roof
One big volume with 900sqm of empty space. The volume of air is
lifted up above the ground, creating a permeable open sheltered
space for the public on the ground floor. This shaded auditorium
becomes an outdoor meeting room, creating potentials for creative
and communicative togetherness during lunch breaks, in between
meetings or exhibitions. It simplifies the connections between
people and places. It cultivates the inclusion of individuals to
share food, drinks, thoughts and conversations. Breaking the
invisible walls between men to embrace diversity in humanity.

Less visible. Volume
The primary volume is a neutral white space, which is visually
disconnected from the outside to avoid any unwanted visual
obstructions or changing quality of natural light. The white
rooms act as backdrops for a variety of events such as
presentations, exhibitions, film screenings etc. to become the
focus. Here, architecture seamlessly integrates into the
environment to enable endless possibilities to happen; collecting
opinions and engaging thoughts within these unobstructed white
rooms.

Less defined. Structure
Simple structural grid allows movable walls to act as divisions
between rooms, enabling more flexibility to play with smaller
volumes inside the big white room. Flexibility of forms and
configurations can easily be unfolded to accommodate both formal
or playful scenarios. This ever-changing quality and the
potential to 'renew, revive and rebirth' is what makes KAT-Ohno
a living architecture.

Less-ness. Above Roof
Architecture is pared down to simply having a roof above and below
the body. Through the atrium on the ground floor, the public can
freely access the roof terrace to discover a quite, contemplative
space defined by the cityscape. From the ground, the white volume
is seen as an invisible layer, a seamless extension to the current
situation - a timeless non-space.