WORK x ation Site

WORK x ation Site Karuizawa / Worcation Site Karuizawa is a renovation project for a building facing the roundabout (Roppongi Tsuji) in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, and an extension project for follies. For renovation, the building that used to be a restaurant was changed to a work office that accommodates flexible work styles.

 

 

The site surrounded by lush trees is about 311 tsubo, and the total floor area of ​​the existing building is about 83 tsubo. The building shape is a roundabout with the one-story part and the second floor part connected like a V.

 

 

On the 1st floor, there are two workspaces of 50 to 60 m2 across the entrance hall, with a water supply and a cafe. Also, in the existing plan, it was a completely closed plan with a roundabout and a service area for the roundabout side, but in this plan, although the opening was narrow, there was an entrance hall with wind and light. It was a space that could pass through. In addition, a facade with commercial power was created by installing a cafe terrace on the roundabout side where traffic is heavy.

 

 

The 2nd floor was divided into small rooms in the existing plan, but the structure of the pillars, beams, and walls was reinforced to create a spacious one-room work space of about 60 m2. A space filled with greenery. As a device unique to renovation, we installed a long press that doubles as a cable rack on the wall so that new lighting fixtures and projectors can be wired without breaking the existing wall. In addition, a vertical frame is provided to respond to the long press, and the function of office use such as a wall for projecting a projector and a whiteboard wall is made into interior.

 

 

In the existing plan, there was no insulation under the floor at all, so a new insulation layer was provided by using a floating floor (additional floor outlets). For air conditioning and ventilation, we replaced the equipment with energy-saving ones and installed a total heat exchange type ventilation fan to consider heat use and winter use.

The existing exterior wall was finished with a mirror and artificial stone on a part of it, giving the impression of the times, so most of it was covered with cedar board that was painted in gray reflecting the surrounding greenery.

 

 

On the outside, the traffic lines will be maintained without changing the locations of the entrance and the parking lot, and it is planned to increase the planting in line with the area centering on the birch, which is the icon of the facility. A folly as a rest space was added to a part of the exterior. The folly consists of six surfaces with different angles that also serve as roofs, eaves and walls. Their size and angle are the human scale for the act of standing there, and they are also examined from the angle of sunlight and wind pressure resistance.

Furthermore, the pitch width of the plate reflects the result of simulating the flow of rainwater from top to bottom. It has a gradation too. There are two floor levels, the lower one sits like a large bench using a step against a slanted wall as a back, and the higher one throws out its legs and sits open like a veranda. By arranging this folly in a position that can be seen from the street, it will also play the role of “a billboard that does not write anything” of the facility that was reborn in the strict landscape regulation of Karuizawa.

 

We will create a space where you can find your own place while responding to various needs while renting a single building or room for a company in the short and medium to long term, and renting a room when you do not use them went.

 

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