TENANT IN TOKUMANCHO

This project involved the conversion of a five-story steel-frame office building, completed in 1991, into a rental SOHO complex. The transformation repurposed a single-tenant workspace into a commercial unit on the first floor and residential SOHO units on the second through fifth floors. Situated to the west of a public park, the building’s stepped silhouette was leveraged to provide each upper unit with a generous balcony and expansive park views. A primary challenge was the proximity of neighboring buildings to the north and south, where the only existing openings were smoke exhaust windows that offered little natural light. In response, the primary living spaces were strategically placed on the western side to face the park. By concentrating the kitchen and bathroom facilities around the existing spiral staircase in the southeast corner, the design achieves both functional circulation and a highly efficient plumbing layout.

In newly constructed apartment buildings, spaces often become uniform due to cost constraints and the reliance on mass-produced components. For this conversion, I aimed to steer away from that clinical "newness," instead creating a design that embraces the character and texture inherent in a renovation. Across the second to fifth floors, each unit features a distinct palette of flooring, wallpaper, and timber species for cabinetry. In some areas, the original steel frame—finished with its industrial anti-corrosion coating—is left exposed as a structural accent. By offering these varied interior expressions, the project provides residents with choices rooted in personal taste and ambiance, transcending standard criteria like location or square footage.

Modern apartments, often dominated by white floors, walls, ceilings, and fixtures, can feel somewhat suffocating in their clinical uniformity. To counter this, I unified the timber species for cabinetry and shelving within each floor, but varied them from level to level to give the spaces a sense of "breath" and individuality. I selected Lauan for the second floor, MDF for the third, Shina (Japanese basswood) for the fourth, and structural plywood for the fifth. The natural variations in grain, absent in mass-produced goods, create a subtle dynamism and comfort. While the kitchens are standard ready-made units, I replaced typical backsplash panels with flexible boards (fiber-reinforced cement boards) to avoid a monotonous expression and add a raw, textural depth to the interior.

In the laundry and washroom area, the fixed positions of existing windows made it impossible to install standard mirror cabinets. In response, I designed custom mirrored doors and sliding mirrors tailored to each window configuration. To minimize costs and future maintenance, the plumbing and ventilation routes were planned to be accessible from the interior, eliminating the need for external scaffolding. While this strategy resulted in exposed piping and shafts along the eastern wall, these elements were thoughtfully integrated into the interior. By meticulously adjusting the design of the washbasins, dryer stands, and shelving units for each room, I transformed these technical necessities into deliberate architectural details. What could have been a negative constraint was redefined as a positive, character-rich feature of the renovation.

In the common areas, the proximity of the neighboring building to the south severely limits natural light. To address this, I finished the interior walls in a matte silver, allowing both artificial and minimal natural light to diffuse throughout the space. The warm glow from linear light fixtures contrasts with this metallic surface, creating an atmosphere that is both industrial and refined. This silver palette echoes the exterior tiling, establishing a visual continuity from the entrance approach into the building's core. Furthermore, the steel columns, beams, and staircase stringers are finished in a distinct anti-corrosion primer color. This deliberate contrast against the wall finishes highlights the building's skeleton, transforming structural elements into a rhythmic architectural accent.

For the steel staircase, the original covering was removed and the surface minimally polished to preserve the raw, aged texture of the metal. During the renovation of the stairs between the first and second floors, the anti-corrosion primer was applied without protective masking. By intentionally allowing the splashes and marks of the construction process to remain as a final finish, I sought to capture the building's history and the physical reality of its transformation. The building’s signage was conceived not merely as a graphic element, but as a subtle yet profound artistic statement. Created by artist Taro Komiya, the sign features paint pushed through the back of the canvas to create sculptural ridges and shadows. Finished with silver leaf that will oxidize over time, the piece acts as a living element that evolves alongside the building, embracing the beauty of gradual change.