Structure and Elements That Lead to Expansion of Space

Motoyama town is located in the center of northern Kochi prefecture with a population around 3,300. Situated in the middle of the Shikoku mountains and in the upper reaches of the Yoshino River, it is a mountain village rich in nature, with about 90 percent of the town's land covered in forests. The site is located in an area where the main public facilities are gathered, a little behind Route 439 which runs through the town from east to west, and the town hospital is adjacent to the east side. The Yoshino River, which flows to the north side of the town hall, is crossed by bridge designed to be underwater during a flood that create a characteristic landscape of Kochi prefecture.

I tried to utilize this beautiful environment to design the town hall. In order to make it a part of this landscape, I arranged a terrace that looks like a passageway to the scenery of the river and mountains on the north side, and an open space including such as parking lot in front of the entrance in line with the architectural scale.

In recent years, within a limited scale and function, I have been thinking about creating an architecture that is not constrained by building types, structures, or architectural language. Based on this idea, I have been involved in the design of several town halls, but in workshops, I often heard opinions such as that there was no place for people when they visited town halls. There is a growing demand for substantial common areas that people can use on a regular basis. On the other hand, there is a strong demand from the clients to secure the office area, and in many cases, the latter is overwhelmingly requested in the plans for local governments. In designing a space responding to these demands,
I planned this town hall based on the keywords, structure and elements. Rather than creating an architecture that uniquely divides each space, I was trying to expand the area by obscuring the relationship between the two spaces by manipulating architectural elements.

The compact 3-story building adopts a reinforced-concrete (RC) frame structure that employs square grid modules of 7.5m x 4 spans with shear walls.
Looking at the building from the front, between the deep slabs that make up the vertical layers, screens made of local Reihoku cedar are used as a façade element. Just under the large wooden roof, triangular glasses are set-in to let in more light. Around the entrance, there is a spacious space, with no corner posts, supported by the triangular beams. Under the concept of the structure and element as previously explained, the entrance space is connected to the surrounding landscape. By removing the corner posts, there is an enough space for drop off, vestibule and place for visitors. Equipment elements such as lighting, air-conditioning, cable tray and ducting pipes are also arranged in a regular layout in line with the grid module and wooden roof frame, and are attached to the structure.

I re-evaluated all elements making up the building, such as the office area, stairwell, rooms, corners, terraces and smoke-proof hanging walls, as equivalent. Subsequently, these elements were visualized and combined three-dimensionally beyond the concept of floors. I also contrasted structures such as the posts and beams which consist of uniform grid modules, with the elements to make the fuzzy boundaries of space. In that way, I was trying to expand the space.

By carefully confirming the relationship between the structure and the elements, I was able to realize a town hall which is like a big room seamlessly connects government function and other parts with integrity.

Covered with a characteristic wooden roof, the town hall is open to residents and visitors. I hope people enjoy the experiences and activities unique to Motoyama town and the town hall will be passed down as a familiar place.