kwas: iron gallery
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‘iron gallery’ by kwas, tokyo, japan all images courtesy kwas the ‘iron gallery’ is a gallery for antiques and art dealer office in tokyo, japan completed by japanese practice kwas, short
for kensuke watanabe architecture studio. entirely sheathed in corrugated and rusted steel, the four-storey structure is wedged onto a narrow plot along a bustling city arterial road. with a
footprint of 24.73 square meters and total area of 100 square meters, the construct is bordered on two sides by existing highrises and the chamfered front elevation accentuates the
building’s narrow profile. close discussion and collaboration between the architect, contractor and structural engineer allowed the project’s construction to be completed within 47 days.
prefabrication off-site including the superstructure before arriving onsite and the units were welded directly to the steel piles with emphasis was placed on sealing voids to ensure
watertightness. the maintenance free cor-ten steel will continue to age with time, supporting the antique contents contained inside the galleries. the facade’s surface was forged creating
ribs for extra strength while shadow effects cast by the sun subtly shift the exterior’s appearance. oriented toward the north, visitors see a natural green area through a large vertical
window, extending the small spaces with borrowed views of the city. exterior view exterior view from narrow side shade of the ribs on facade gallery interior staircase cor-ten steel appears
when opening the window aerial view construction of facade panel facade panels before fixing floor plan / levels 0, 1, 2, 3 sections composition diagram of the building PROJECT INFO:
LOCATION: azabujuban, tokyo USE: antique gallery. office SITE AREA: 27.33m2 SIZE: steel construction 4 story TOTAL: 97.33m2 CLIENT: mori building co. ltd CONTRACTOR: eiger co. ltd, noriaki
fujii, koji misaki ARCHITECT: kwas/kensuke watanabe architecture studio, kensuke watanabe STRUCTURE: k. nakata & associates, katsuo nakata, takashi takamizawa STEEL FABRICATION: tokyo
kentetsu, kenji sasaki, shuuji matsushima, masamoto kondo designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for
publication.