| Basic Data: |
| Location: |
Tokyo, Japan |
| Architect: |
Nikken Sekkei |
| Client: |
Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co., Ltd |
| Floor space: |
43,926 square meters |
| No of storey: |
9 floors above and 1 floor underground |
| Structure: |
Steel frame and reinforced concrete |
| Date of completion: |
1992 |
| Awards: |
International Illumination Design Award (1994 U.S.A.)
Intelligent Award (1994 Japan)
The Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers
of Japan Awards (1995 Japan)
Energy Conservation Architecture Award (1996 Japan) |
Background information
Housing the Tokyo center of
information and communication systems technology research amd development for
the Japanese electronics giant, the unusually shaped building represents
exceptional design in many respects. The trapezoidal structure encloses a huge,
9-story-high atrium within, around which all other facilities are arranged, and
to which all floors above the second are completely open. With the intention of
blending technology, people, and nature, the atrium has been designed to include
as many natural elements as possible: ample daylight and sunlight, natural
ventilation, a waterfall and pond, roughly cut stone walls and rocks, a floor
with pebbled surfaces and stepping stones, and some greenery. The
entire building is supported by a steel super-frame structure that assures
excellent stability and thus earthquake resistance; it also affords two wide 22
by 57 meter office spaces on each floor, uninterrupted by internal columns.
Truss columns on both the outer and inner sides are angled and, like a bridge,
connected at the top. The stepped profile of the Center has another benefit; it
does not block sunshine from the surrounding residential environment. The
skylight above the atrium is fitted with alternating panes of transparent glass
and double-layered glass installed with aluminum honeycomb panels which,
along with huge glass curtain wall within the east facade, infuse the space with
soft daylight. Moreover, in order to increase the amount of direct sunshine
inside, a system of adjustable mirrors under the skylight reflects beams of
sunlight, which can engender a wide range of vibrant patterns and lighting
conditions depending on the time of the day and the season.
Overview:
A pyramid of sun and mirrors
The Panasonic Multimedia Centre is situated in
a mixed section of Tokyo where the building code is part industrial and part
residential. The building's commission had several key purposes, including
creating a major presence for world-renowned Matsushita Electronics Corporation
in the city's downtown area. However, its main focus is to serve the locale as a
multimedia R&D centre. Its design concept is based on the unanimity and
fusion between the human community, nature and technology.
The exterior mass of the building ascends from
its site as a majestic trapezium of glittering steel and glass. By utilizing
this form, the architects sough to minimize the effect of bulk and facilitate
light access and the deceleration of wind at the base level. The core focus of
the design is the rotunda atrium. Despite its immense vaulted space, the 45m
high atrium was designed as an inviting social environment where people, both
visitors and staff, could relax and easily communicate, where human activity is
pleasantly supported by both natural elements and technology.
An intelligent Building with an Organic
Sensibility
Given their stature as a leader on the
cutting edge of the electronics industry, Matsushita wanted a highly
'intelligent' large-scale building, designed in amity with nature. They sought a
holistic architecture that would reflect their own technological and
environmental concerns. Three salient design solutions that evolved out of
Nikken Sekki's initial planning and were adopted in this project included:
- the 'Ireko' (or shell space concept)
- the creation of a heterogeneous indoor environment, and
- the use of natural energy systems throughout the building
The 'Ireko' principle is a classical concept
in Japanese architecture whereby space is approached by considering the layering
of one environment within the other and how they and influence one another. This
was the first time Nikken Sekki had consciously used this idea in the
environmental design of a large urban building. It could be said of 'Ireko' that
the starting point begins with human being in the core of their personal
environment; from these personal areas enclosed by an ambient surround, the
atrium spreads out, creating a lucid ordering of space. The impact of the form
and functions of these successive spaces then extends beyond the building's
envelope to adjacent, local and urban spaces, giving those inside a sense of
infinite extension to the world and the universe. 'Ireko', in its ancient
context, once served to mute the threat of the natural environment and the
spatial composition allowed dwellers to easily acclimatize to the outdoors. At
the Panasonic Centre, nature is brought indoors and integrated into the building
as an important interstice.
| Design feature:
This building is the information and communications center for the Matsushita
Electronic Company. It is located in a mixed industrial and residential
area of Tokyo. The Systems Center features a superframe structure making
possible a 45 meter high trapezoidal atrium which is 48 meter at the base.
It was also essential in ensuring the flexibility of the north and south
wings. The result is that here a 22 X 57 meter space has been realized
without any interior supporting columns. The trapezoid design minimizes
the effect of bulk, overshadowing and the acceleration of wind at ground
level. The floor plates to the north and south were thus designed to step
towards each other forming an atrium of a similar trapezoid. The east end
of the atrium is fully glazed and the west is closed in by elevators and
core facilities. Reception spaces are located on the floor of the atrium
together with an elaborate garden of sculpture and plants. The garden includes
a waterfall. The atrium is completely open with no glass or other partitions
obstructing the flow of space to the wings. Although it is integrated with
the office spaces, an autonomous environment is created in the atrium with
features like day-lighting from toplights and natural white noise for the
waterfall.
|
Creating a Heterogeneous Indoor Environment
Comfortable temperatures and bright lighting
throughout buildings were once luxuries available only to royalty and nobility.
However, while the arrival of artificial light and air-conditioning has
transformed the way human beings function in buildings, they are considered a
homogenizing force that dominates modern building environments. Today, there is
move away from the homogeneous interior and, increasingly, designers are seeking
innovative strategies that will result in highly flexible heterogeneous spaces.
This approach is vitally manifested throughout many areas of the areas of the
Panasonic Centre.
Reference:
-
FACT - Nikken Sekkei
-
Brochure from Nikken Sekkei
-
Sustainable Design Guide, Japan Institute of Architects
-
GA Japan Environmental Design, Winter 1993 Vol.02
-
Japan Architect, Spring 1993-1 No.9
-
Sustainable architecture in Japan
-
Building Future Japan 1900-2000
| Created: 20 Aug 2001 |
Update: 22 Aug 2001 | By: cmhui@hku.hk
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