R+S

Tokyo Replay Center competition

R+S (Ricardo Conde Sousa, Sofia Paradela De Oliveira) . + ArchMedium

This competition aim was to develop a new leisure center in central Tokyo that should fit within the lifestyle of the Japanese society while at the same time, creating a complex with numerous private media rooms (similar to the widespread karaoke rooms) where groups of friends can go to see old anime, to watch classic films, or to play video games in a private setting where they can feel comfortable.

Additionally, the Tokyo Replay Center aspires to be a reference point in the Japanese culture of leisure, a must for the "otaku" (people with a keen interest in manga, anime, and video games) and everyone else who might be interested in technology or just having a good time.

The idea was to define a secluded world, introspective, isolated from the exterior one, a composition of different spheres for different uses and privacy levels.
Containing these sub-worlds and defining, at the same time, its interior spaces, with a more private character, and exterior common public spaces, it presents a structure of perpendicularly crossed boxes like piled beams.
The light comes all the way from the top of the building and goes through a perforated façade bringing
up the sensation of losing track of time and a perception of an outer reality.
Through a main entrance, a big lobby is accessible from the pedestrian main street and from a secondary passage, the "MyWay". Moreover, a small difference of height from the outside brings the idea of a building dissimilar from its surrounding.
After the lobby follows a big space that contains the multi-purpose area. In the space right
underneath it is located the Auditorium. Straight above the entrance floor, two levels of shops are
placed, which are followed by the bar and kitchen. These two divisions belong to the building's central area. The upper levels contain the most private spaces, the media rooms as well as the administration and servers rooms which are at the very end.
Furthermore, a system of three elevators gives different access to the floors, with the intent of distinguishing different groups of people according to their functions, working as shortcuts to distinct spaces natures. One elevator goes through all the floors except the last floor. Another elevator accesses the shops and the bar, and finally, the last lift accesses the bar, media rooms and administration.

Tokyo Replay Center. Competition, finalist