nanometer architecture

Aiming for a superior spatial experience

　The site is located in a section of the Sakae Underground mall, an area experiencing remarkable development due to recent restructuring. It features an elongated shape with a frontage exceeding 21 meters and a depth of over 5 meters.

　The store's walls are constructed from steel plates just 6mm thick. By curving them at different angles of a straight lease line, a boundary was created that blurs the sense of distance between inside and outside. Furthermore, the walls appear to have depth and shadows due to their relationship with the existing structure and lighting, giving them a distinct presence within the underground mall. By using a bending treatment with an extremely effective bending ratio for vibration damping, it achieves an integrated design combining form and function.

　Given the nature of an underground mall, the layout of equipment such as air conditioning vents, lighting fixtures, and inspection hatches must be carefully considered. Although underground, the space faces the outside air, demanding high air conditioning capacity, and its illuminance relies heavily on the lighting equipments installed in the store. As there are also equipments required by laws and regulations, it is common method for many stores to scatter these reasonably across the ceiling. In this project, the walls were finished with metal panels. Due to the specifications of these panels, joints appear at equally spaced intervals. It was determined that having these unnecessary lines appear on the floor and ceiling would be inappropriate.Therefore, the floor was finished with a special terrazzo that requires no joints. The various equipment that must be densely attached on the ceiling was placed under a raised ceiling, concentrating it on the raised side. This allowed for a beautiful finish on the lowered side, completely free of any equipment.

We believe that this is a superior space unlike any typical underground mall.