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Kannai Blade Residence

Akira Koyama and Key Operation Inc. / Architects

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Bronze
Facade - Noriyuki Yano Photo Office
Entrance - Noriyuki Yano Photo Office
Facade - Noriyuki Yano Photo Office
Facade - Noriyuki Yano Photo Office

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Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Co-Living Complex
4.62
5.23
4.89
4.54
4.82
Frank la Rivière
Frank la Rivière Principal Architect/Designer at Frank la Rivière Architects
7
7
8
5
6.75
Nicolas Demers-Stoddart
Nicolas Demers-Stoddart Partner at Provencher_Roy
7.09
6.8
8.34
5.49
6.93
Alexandra Cuber
Alexandra Cuber Director at Fogarty Finger Architecture
Simplicity in its full beauty....
7
7
8
6
7
Ruud de Bruin
Ruud de Bruin Creative Director at Ace & Tate
7.44
6.17
6.97
6.51
6.77
Jocelyne Sacre
Jocelyne Sacre Design Strategist at Consultant
The organic shapes play nicely with...
7
7
7.5
6
6.88
Michael Schwab
Michael Schwab Founder and Sustainability Designer at In Pretty Good Shape
7
7
7
7
7
Victoria Stiles
Victoria Stiles Retail Design Manager at Mirvac
less is more. The design embraces a...
7
7
7
6
6.75
Larry Traxler
Larry Traxler SVP - Global Head of Design at Hilton Hotels
5
6.5
6
6
5.88
Asell Yusupova
Asell Yusupova Strategy Director at UXUS
7
7
8
6
7
Sanjit Manku
Sanjit Manku Associate Partner at Studio Jouin Manku
7
6.5
7
6
6.63
Drew Gilbert
Drew Gilbert Design Manager at OBMI
5
7
5
6
5.75
Xie Peihe
Xie Peihe Founder & Chief Designer at AD Architecture
7.5
8
7.8
6.6
7.48
Katharina Fischer
Katharina Fischer Creative Consultant at Katharina Fischer Design and Speaking Spaces
8
7
8
5
7
Client
Tohshin Partners
Floor area
3252 ㎡
Completion
2021
Budget
1,320,000,000
Social Media
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Finishes

Zoom Yokohama Kannai
This residence sits on a corner site close from Yokohama Kannai Station. It consists of 94 studio flats, with their floor areas ranging between 22m2 to 47m2; which are suitable for single dwellers or young couples without children.

The vertical concrete panels have been added to the facade randomly, concealing the small units behind them. Panels, thin as they are, are unobtrusive, befitting the scale of the individual units. The depth of panels vary between 200mm to 900mm, with some functioning as brise-soleil and some as dividing walls between different units, whilst others are more decorative, framing views of the city.

The Japanese residence blocks tend to look very similar due to the requirement of the balconies on the facade. We took extra care to make sure that the boilers and air-conditioning units placed outside on the balconies as discreetly tucked away as possible.

When you look at the entire building from the front elevation, these concrete fins appear as sharp as a Samurai’s sword cutting through the air. However, viewing from the side, you can begin to appreciate the texture of the concrete, which changes its appearance with the intensity of the light.

The concrete fins on the facade are made with Hybrid Prestressed Concrete. By using enmeshed carbon cables instead of the usual steel rods to reinforce concrete and by adding polypropylene fibre to strengthen the mixture, the panels can be made as thin as 40mm.

Facade designs tend to reflect the interior structures but we wanted to experiment and play against such a norm so that the new building resonated with the post-war buildings in the area. The individual flats feel more open and connected with the outside world through these thin concrete panels, retaining a sense of scale that is both human and urban.