BENTEN APARTMENT

Under the city’s revitalization initiative symbolized by the slogan “Mebuku” (“to sprout”), Maebashi is advancing a wide-ranging public–private effort to renew its urban core.
The Benten Apartment was planned as part of this movement, with the aim of attracting a younger generation to live in the city center.
The ground floor houses shared facilities—including a laundry space—and retail units, while the second through fourth floors contain residential units.
From the second floor, three building volumes branch off, connected by stairways that lead to a roof terrace landscaped with greenery.

We conceived this building as a kind of “device for observing the city.”
By opening the corners of each unit, residents experience a sense as if their rooms are projected outward into the city.
The urban scenery encountered from each dwelling varies greatly: from the lower floors, one can feel almost within reach of the arcade’s side walls and overhead structure, while from the upper floors, the view expands southward toward the city center and northward to the Hirose River and Mount Akagi.
Ascending to the rooftop terrace, one becomes acutely aware that this city is nestled within the vast mountain ranges of Jōmō.