InnoValley
#architecture
Architects: DRAFT, TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers
Area: 10397 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Kotaro Imada
City: Ranzan
Country: Japan
A new research and development center of a chemical manufacturer has been built on a nature-rich site with views of the Chichibu Mountains. An unprecedented type of technology development center was required to respond to the need for faster product development in the rapidly changing field of electronics and to secure a stable and capable workforce amid a declining birthrate.
The building thus created consists of the lower floors to be used as a development zone, the intermediate floors containing machinery and equipment for the lower floors and extra space for future use and the upper floors designed as an office zone with bird's-eye views of surrounding natural landscapes. By stacking functionally optimized, purpose-specific planes, a dynamic space with a rich variety of indoor and outdoor space has been created.
The exterior of the lower floor zone is finished with earth-colored louvers to blend harmoniously with the surrounding lush greenery. The upper-floor office zone is enclosed by glass and horizontal eaves to create a striking contrast to the lower-floor design. The simplicity of the vertical and horizontal elements stresses the presence of a voluminous structure that looks like floating over the forest.
The entrance hall retains the memories of the sloping terrain woodland that once existed at the site, creating a heartwarming space that invites visitors to walk up an easy slope. The tapestries designed to mimic rain falling on trees were created, in collaboration with a craftsman specializing in Japanese paper (Ogawa washi) making, a traditional craft of a neighboring town, by using 2.5 m × 8.0 m pieces of washi. The plaster walls produced by the artistic plasterer Naoki Kusumi also add color to the entrance hall.
The multi-floor open space interconnecting the three office floors was inspired by the panoramic ridge lines of the Chichibu Mountains and the landscapes of the Ranzan Ravine. The irregularly shaped multi-floor open space creates places of various configurations, just as a ravine offers places of varied shapes so that anglers and campers can find places of their liking. Varied spaces and places laid out around the multi-floor open space are interconnected by stairs and circulation lines so as to create opportunities for unexpected exchanges. The four-meter-wide cantilevered peripheral zone of each floor forms a daringly wide, open space that practically connects the internal space and the surrounding environment.
Creativity and inspiration of individual workers are stimulated by unknowingly moving between different environments created by the lower floors and upper floors, well-lit spaces and shaded spaces, time- and space-dependent changes in external environmental conditions, and varied combinations of materials. It is hoped that opportunities for unexpected encounters incorporated in the space stimulate communication between individuals and organizations and induce serendipity to give rise to unprecedented innovations.
