How do you fit an art gallery, florist shop, and home for two into a building with a footprint of just over 400 square feet? If you’re Hiroshima-based architect Makoto Tanijiri, you start by breaking down the traditional divisions between spaces, and end up with a sleek box that has more than one unexpected twist. Earlier this year I stopped by florist_gallery N in Nagoya to take a look.
ギャラリー、花屋、そして夫婦二人が住まう住居を、わずか建築面積44㎡の建物に収めるという難問に
サポーズの谷尻誠さんが挑んだ作品、名古屋市の
florist_gallery Nまで足を運び、谷尻さんにもお話を伺うことができました。
(Exterior Photo by Toshiyuki Yano)
The three-story concrete structure sits off a busy thoroughfare in Nagoya’s Chikusaku district, a residential area ten minutes by train from Nagoya Station. It was completed in December 2007.
2007年12月に竣工した道路に面した3階建てコンクリート造の建物。名古屋駅から電車で約10分離れた千種区。
(Front Window)
The gallery and flower shop share a single room on the first floor (seen here from the street), with the living areas upstairs. Ten-foot-high sliding glass doors make up the front and back walls of the ground floor, while the upper floors are shielded with a solid white façade for privacy.
ギャラリーと花屋のある1階は南北に高さ3mのガラスの扉があり開放的ですが、生活空間となる2、3階はプライバシーを守るために壁で囲われています。
(Bent wall Photo by Toshiyuki Yano)
Having two walls of solid glass on the first floor meant Tanijiri needed to reinforce the building’s side walls for strength. Tanijiri decided to do so by bending the western wall like a folding screen, which added aesthetic interest to the design as well. The ceiling is also “bent” on the first and second floors (this photo shows the second floor living room).
屏風を折ったような壁は、構造の強化と表情の美しさを狙ったもの。1階と2階の天井面も折れています。（写真は2階のリビング）
(Yurika Ninomiya-san)
Owner Yurika Ninomiya creates flower arrangements to order and runs the gallery during the week. Her husband Takuya joins her on the weekends and helps arrange shows.
オーナーの二宮由利香さんはフラワーアレンジの仕事と平行してギャラリーも運営。週末にはご主人の拓也さんが協力してくれるそうです。
(Black Box)
A black steel box in the center of the florist/gallery space houses a flower refrigerator on one side and a restroom on the other. The walls of the box provide extra display space for hanging artwork.
中央に設置された黒い鉄の箱は、生花のための冷蔵庫と洗面室。外側はギャラリーの展示面でもあります。
(Teahouse 1)
Behind the main building, a tiny structure of bent steel with tatami flooring serves as a tearoom and additional gallery space.
母屋の後方に、鉄板を折り曲げただけの小さな和室があり、ギャラリースペースも兼ねています。
(Teahouse 2)
The teahouse occupies a sliver of space with parking lots on either side and a schoolyard behind it. Adult guests have to hunch down to get inside, but kids from the school slip right in. “The kids are totally interested in the building and artwork,” says Yurika.
和室は駐車場に挟まれた僅かなスペースに配置されています。開口が低く抑えられているので大人は頭を下げないと入れませんが、すぐ隣にある学校の生徒にはちょうどよい高さ、アートを見に立ち寄ることもあるそうです。「子供は興味津々ですよ！」と由利香さん。
(Teahouse window)
Once inside, the teahouse feels cozy and relaxing. A narrow window at the top of the north wall perfectly frames the schoolyard’s lush row of cherry trees.
和室の中はとても心地良い空間です。北側の壁の上部に設置された水平窓は、校庭の桜を楽しむためのもの。
( Staircase 1)
There is no separate entrance leading to the residence. Instead, the Ninomiyas and their guests climb a spiral staircase in one corner of the gallery/shop. Shoes stay at the bottom of the stairs.
住宅には専用の玄関が設けられていません。住居部分へはギャラリーの隅にあるらせん階段を上がっていきます。
(Staircase 2)
There’s no door between the shop and the residence, either – just a round hole in the ceiling. The distance between the two areas establishes privacy, explains Tanijiri.
住宅とお店を隔てるドアがありません。天井にぽっかりと丸い穴が開いているだけ。ふたつの空間の距離こそがプライバシーを生み出す、と谷尻さん。
(Second floor interior. Photo by Toshiyuki Yano)
Tanijiri’s firm, Suppose Design Office, custom-designed most of the furniture in the house and shop, including the sofa, table, and cabinets in the second floor kitchen/dining/living room (shown here).
ソファ、テーブル、キャビネットを含めた家の中のほとんどの家具は、サポーズのデザインによるもの。
(Mural and trees)
Sliding glass doors and broad balconies off the second and third floors overlook the verdant foliage in the schoolyard behind the building, as well as a children’s mural and garden. Tanijiri’s design takes full advantage of that “borrowed landscape,” a classic concept in Japanese garden design.
2階と3階の広いバルコニーからは校庭の青々とした葉、その手前の子供が描いた壁画を見下ろせるようになっています。谷尻さんは、家からの眺めを借景としてデザインに組み込みました。
(Bath Photo by Toshiyuki Yano)
The third floor bathroom, separated from the bedroom by a glass wall, also overlooks the trees.
3階にあるお風呂の窓外の風景。寝室は左手ガラス越しにあります。
(Projection 1)
The day I visited, the gallery was displaying images of the seashore by artist Yoko Mazuki. She had projected a film onto the gallery’s ceiling of waves lapping the shore.
映像作家の真月洋子さんによる海岸のイメージが天井に映写されていました。砂にひたひたと打ち寄せる波の映像。
( Projection 2)
The enigmatic patterns were particularly striking seen from the street at night. Each artist finds a creative way to use the unique space, said Yurika.
陽が落ちて外から見た不思議な模様のように見える映像がとても印象的でした。ギャラリースペースはとてもユニークな空間ですが、アーテｨストはいつも効果的に使ってくれるのだそうです。
(Makoto Tanijiri-san)
On the day I visited, the architect also dropped by. Tanijiri is young and hip, with a boldly experimental design philosophy to match. On this project, he says his goal was to create a “new kind of normal”: a structure that looks ordinary, but reveals its uniqueness the more time one spends in it.
「普通に見えて普通じゃない」建物を造ることが目標だったと、谷尻さんは設計当時を振り返りつつ語ってくださいました。
（取材、写真：ウイニフレッド・バード）
Design:
Suppose Design Office
Structural Engineering: Nawa Kenji
Furniture Production: Miya Kogei
Metalwork (staircase, teahouse, etc): Kamo Craft
florist_gallery N
〒464-0816名古屋市千種区鏡池通3-5-1
