This is a renovation project of the lower floor commercial area of the 33-year-old Matsushita IMP Building, an office building. The building was planned during Japan's booming economy that began in the late 1980s, so was characterized by expensive materials and glittering interiors. However, it was sparsely populated, and the luxurious space felt out of place, as if it were an isolated island left behind. We focused on making the space more valuable for the future and creating a space that would harmonize with and revitalize the present and the future, while utilizing the design of such a space. In the future, large-scale renovations of large buildings in Japan as well as China will be less common, and we believe that there will be more demand for partial yet effective renewal, utilizing the past while harmonizing and revitalizing the present and future eras.

As the Corona Disaster created an environment where many companies could work outside their offices, we sought to create a commercial office building that would fit a new style of work by creating a place to work in the common area of the commercial area. By making it a place that anyone can freely use, we created a place that can be used mainly as a working place for office workers inside and outside the building on weekdays, and as a rest space for tourists on holidays. By doing so, we were able to transform the building into a space where people can gather and live in the present and envision the future, rather than a space that has been left behind.|

＜Design motif＞
Since the building still has a previously planned station underground, we used the station as a design motif in the hope that the building would become a hub for people to gather, as was once planned.

The round pillars extending across multiple floors throughout the facility are given a bold mortar-tone finish and metal framing to create the base for a colonnade-like space similar to what is found in a railway station. Against this backdrop, the colors of Osaka Castle, which is located nearby, were incorporated into the furniture, fixtures, and equipment to create an affinity with the origins of the land which dates back more than 400 years.

＜Resource Reuse＞
We preserved the old building’s fixtures to the extent possible and promoted their effective utilization. The distinctively patterned stone floors were left as is, while over 95% of the walls, ceilings, and columns were reformed into wood grain and mortar designs by skilled craftspersons who applied special coatings over existing finishings. Most of the lighting, with the exception of some added lighting, was simply replaced with LED bulbs due to its aged state.