Osaka Office Conversion

The conversion of a 48-year old small office building into a private residence won best design (open category) in the 2014 Renovation of the Year awards announced on November 2.

The 4-storey office building had a floor plate of 66 sqm and was surrounding by buildings on three sides, limiting natural light. The property was purchased for a relatively low cost due to its age and the difficulty in attracting commercial tenants.

The owners are a couple who manage a clothing brand. They had four requirements:

1) To find a way to bring light into the bedrooms on the 3rd and 4th floor.
2) To open up the living room on the 4th floor without sacrificing privacy from neighbouring buildings.
3) To incorporate 9’s ‘Punk, Primitive and Pure’ design concept.
4) To add a secure garage on the ground floor.

To maximise the natural light, attention was drawn to the internal stairwell. A 153cm x 63cm glass floor at the top of the stairwell helped to bring light to the floors below. Glass was also used as the partition between the stairwell.

On the 4th floor roof terrace, a floor-to-ceiling glass window creates an open feeling. A custom-made dining table continues through to the terrace, creating an illusion of seamlessly passing through the glass and drawing the eye outside.

The ceilings and walls were stripped back to expose the raw structure, concrete, pipes and beams.

Before

Osaka Office Conversion 9

After

Details
Location Nishi-ku, Osaka
Built April 1966
Construction 4-storey + Roof, steel frame
Renovation area 261.30 sqm (2,812 sqft)
Time required 3 months
Renovation cost 25,000,000 Yen

Sources:

9 Design (website)
Renovation Expo Japan 2014,

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