GORK JOURNAL

Asymmetric construction

Project: Hotel Rakuragu
Architecture: kooo architects
Photo: Keishin Horikoshi
Geo: Tokio, JP


I look at this tower and the concept of a nine-story hotel doesn’t resonate with it at all: the area is only 84 square meters. This is certainly not the Steinway Tower at Central Park with its extreme width-to-height ratio of 1:24, but it is also quite narrow. However, for Japan, such a format is the norm. What’s curious is that in such dimensions, functionality is meticulously squeezed from every square centimeter. Here we can observe a scattering of luxurious asymmetric balconies forming cantilevers all the way up the building. This construction became possible thanks to the use of modular floors, which incorporate a rigid frame structure with diagonal braces instead of standard columns and beams.

I should also note that the hotel is situated among dense office buildings, and the architects oriented the windows and balconies of the modules in such a way that they face urban gaps, providing diverse views of the city. Form follows function — how pleasant it is to observe.

@gorkjournal
Architecture