The Duplicated Edge is a design for Toshin Satellite Preparatory School in Kawanishi, Japan. The School wanted a new multi-functional office and reception space in a narrow 110sqm room with a low ceiling. Instead of a traditional reception desk facing the entrance and creating a deep back ground of spaces, the reception was made in a sharp-edged triangle pointing to the gate and suggesting two subdivisions of the room. On the left side the information and registration counter. Across this space is a one-step elevated consultation space where two tables were placed. The narrower part of this triangular space is gradually elevated to transform into sitting space. The right side of the reception counter mutates into a low counter used for administrative documents. This side serves two meeting and conference rooms which were made in white cuboids with glazed walls facing the counter in an attention to keep the visual continuity.
The wall separating these spaces from the background is covered in mirrors extending the view to wider dimensions. The same logic was used to resolve the problem of the low ceiling. Instead of the mirrors, sandwiched reflective aluminum panels were used for safety reasons. Additionally, and in order to introduce a dynamic effect guaranteeing a smooth vertical move of the eye into the ceiling, the triangular counter was covered in a gradually ascending white panel enhancing its sharpness and linking it to the upper part.