Overview
Stainless steel has emerged as a necessary part of modern architecture, especially in North America and Europe. This week we will swift your attention to a famous stainless steel building from East Asia through the case of Dear Jingumae Building.
The Dear Jingumae Building
The Dear Jingumae Building is situated on a back street of Omotesando in Tokyo, Japan, an area widely known for its architecture with buildings on the main shopping parades by Herzog & DE Meuron, Tadao Ando and Jun Aoki (Miranda Fitzgerald 2014).
The Dear Jingumae Building covers a total floor space of 573.73 m2 and is 9.94 meters high above rail level. It is a five-story-high building consisted of 3 stories above the ground and 2 stories underground. It serves as both a store building and an office building. With its soft undulating façade and dramatic architecture style, the Building never fails to make passersby linger with photo taking.
Project Background
The Dear Jingumae Building is an office building renovation project aimed to turn a 25-year-old office building into a brand-new and innovative commercial space.
The original office block was constructed in 1925 and the renovated one, i.e., the Dear Jingumae Building reopened on 21 March 2014. The history between this period remained vague and unclear due to lack of relevant record. After its renovation, the previously pure office structure would accommodate a shop at least one of its floors.
The Design of the Dear Jingumae Building
The Dear Jingumae Building was designed by Yoshihiro Amano, head architect of Amano Design Office to meet the two requirements specified by the client, 1) a different appearance which could stand out from its surrounding buildings; 2) a valuable investment that would be a part of future tenants’ branding.
In response, Amano removed the previously decorative facade to expose the primary core structure and replaced with an undulating façade made up of the computer-designed metal louvers. The three-dimensional form might look complicated but actually is composed of only two types of radii (700R and 700R) and straight lines.
The three-story-high billowing structure emerges from the ground floor gracefully in a soft expression reminiscent of the soft texture of fabric. This unique façade design is important in this project for several reasons as below listed.
• It plays a significant role in promoting tenant branding, as it creates a distinct identity that aligns with the commercial purposes of future occupants. The idea involves attracting a brand into their ground and basement level retail space that can identify with the bold façade and incorporate it into their image (Johnny 2014).
• With the design, Amano aimed to meet the clients’ requirements of standing out from the surrounding buildings that have a more rigid looking meanwhile delivering a soft expression that would be favorably accepted by passersby.
• Even at the time of economic stagnation, architects like Amano still worked on vitalizing the neighborhood through their bold and innovative design. It added variety and enriched architecture expression to the surrounding streetscape.
Stainless Steel Applied in the Dear Jingumae Building
Stainless steel materials applied in the Dear Jingumae Building are stainless steel plates and stainless steel pipes. The louver components were welded to the crossed stainless steel plates and protruded from the building frame by stainless steel pipes, leading to a streamlined workability.
Stainless Steel from CIVMATS China
If you are sourcing stainless steel materials from China for a project like the Dear Jingumae Building, whether for stainless steel plates or/and for stainless steel pipes, CIVMATS China can meet your special demands with customized stainless steel solutions.
Apart from stainless steel plates, pipes, CIVMATS also manufacture stainless steel bars, wires and ropes for your one-stop stainless steel purchasing experience. CIVMATS aspire to be your first and best stainless steel choice in China. Choose CIVMATS, choose reliability.
