This is a hair salon located on a local roadside. Cars come and go all day long on the front road and most of the surrounding area is occupied by parking. But three-fourths of the city area is covered in forest, where forestry is flourishing here and timber has long been transported by raft. Although the utilization of local resources is being promoted, the transition to wooden non-residential low-rise buildings has not progressed.

The client requested bright spaces, ventilation performance effective against viruses, and a sustainable architecture to ensure this. Is it possible to create a natural architecture that reflects these diverse conditions? Rather than thinking about the design or form, we started thinking about architecturally recombining the hair salon, the townscape, and things.

Cut spaces with large mirrors (RC walls) that exceed human scale are arranged in a staggered manner, and large wooden desks (CLT roofs) are placed between them. They are joined using the same simple construction method as furniture using only angles and screws. RC walls can handle out-of-plane loads, and CLT roofs create long-span frames without beams. The exposed CLT roofs prevent direct sunlight, and indirect light from between the roofs illuminates the interior.

Seasonal winds are brought in through the openings between the roofs, allowing a comfortable indoor environment to be maintained without air conditioning during the middle of the season. The wind that flows along the roof promotes effective gravity ventilation without raising cut hairs. It also effectively contributes to anti-virus measures. At the joints between roofs and mirrors, there are CLT cutouts for mounting on angles, and by installing lighting there, the lighting equipment are hidden from view.

In addition, the reflection of the mirror doubles lights, making it possible to secure the high illuminance necessary for a hair salon with a minimum number of lights. Walls, mirrors, and windows are made to the same scale, and mirrors and windows are made with the same transparency using highly transparent glass. The roof, floor, and furniture are made to the same scale and from the same materials. The reflections of mirrors and glass double the amounts of plants planted inside and outside, creating a well-being environment surrounded by greenery.

The roof is made of wood that was once washed away, and the reflections of cars on the roadside are incorporated into the building, overlaying the flowing scenery of the past and present on the space. Mirrors that reflect a person's appearance takes in trees, greenery, and the cityscape, continuously connecting the interior and exterior landscape with the person's activities, and reflecting oneself in it. The small activity elements of the beauty salon transcend meaning, purpose, and scale, creating an architecture that resembles a natural forest with a multilayered mixture of objects.