INSIGHTS

2019.07.29

R&D DISCUSSION Vol. 10

A workplace that fosters innovation
If the environment changes, the way you work will change [Part 2]

Tetsuo Kobori Architect

R&D DISCUSSION TOP

Top image: ROKI Global Innovation Center -ROGIC-.
In the large one-room space, the workspace is arranged like rice fields. [Photo: Takahiro Arai]

Q: The ROKI Global Innovation Center -ROGIC-, completed in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in 2013, is not only recognized as an environmentally friendly building that attempts to combine natural energy with the latest environmental technology, but also as a research facility that breaks away from conventional concepts. How did this rich workplace that takes advantage of the unique characteristics of the location come about?

A: ROKI is a manufacturer of filters used in automobile engines. Their core technology is filtration, which removes unnecessary substances from gases and liquids and extracts necessary substances. The project began with a sense of crisis from the management team, asking how they could develop their company in the automobile industry, where technology is evolving at a dizzying pace, from gasoline-engine vehicles to electric and hydrogen vehicles. What kind of space is needed to encourage engineers to come up with highly creative ideas and ideas on a different level than before? After many discussions with the client, the concept of "Amplifier Space" was born. The idea was to stimulate the sensibilities of Japanese people, who have always been sensitive to changes in nature, and generate creativity.

This was also an idea that came from the location, which is blessed with a natural environment. The site is on a terrace overlooking the Tenryu River to the south, and there was a reservoir between the site and the river. If you go up to the top, you can see the entire site, and if you look up at the sky, you can see black kites flying all the time, and I discovered that the terrain is creating wind. The Hamamatsu Plain is characterized by its long hours of sunlight, and this land is full of light and has a pleasant breeze. I did not want to obstruct this land with a new building, and rather, I strongly felt that I wanted to create a building that would make the feeling even more apparent. So, we made it a four-story one-room space with a curved glass roof, and installed sliding doors on the part facing the pond, so that the wind coming through the river and pond can be taken in during intermediate seasons such as spring and autumn, and parts of the second to fourth floors can be used as semi-outdoor workspaces. Research facilities are generally closed, homogeneous spaces with air conditioning, and the engineers were initially opposed, but the research on semi-exterior spaces conducted by Professor Shinichi Tanabe of Waseda University, who gave a lecture last time, saved us. The study, which was presented in 2003, found that even if the room temperature was the same at 30 degrees, 50% of people would feel uncomfortable in an air-conditioned closed indoor space. However, only 11% would feel uncomfortable in a semi-outdoor space such as a terrace or a station. This survey result can be interpreted in various ways, but the hypothesis is that the closer humans are to nature, the higher their tolerance for the environment. A homogeneous space is actually uncomfortable for people, and a space closer to nature with unevenness is more comfortable. In ROKI's existing research facility, people work right next to a room lined with equipment that emits sound and heat, and when I saw that, I thought that people have a place to be, and machines have a place to be. Taking advantage of the difference in elevation on the site, we have layered a workspace that is covered with a glass roof and is a semi-outdoor space, a relatively stable shade-like workspace, a light-free laboratory, and a machine room. From the large atrium space to the 2.1m-scale 4th floor of a house, we have deliberately created unevenness (heterogeneity) in the ceiling height, differences in light and dark, and room temperature. The BEMS monitor notifies the user when it is time for natural ventilation, and when the sliding doors on the first floor are opened, the air conditioning automatically stops. The wind that is drawn into the building passes through an electrically operated skylight in the glass roof.

The exterior is covered with a curved glass roof. [Photo: Takahiro Arai]

Q: I heard that ROKI products are used for the translucent ceiling membrane.

A: The main roof is made of glass, a wooden lattice ceiling, and a double-skinned truss structure, and the shoji-like membrane stretched over the wooden lattice ceiling is the ROKI filter. It was developed for automobiles, but it allows wind (air) to pass through and diffuses light. It also has excellent sound absorption properties, and best of all, it's provided for free (laughs). This light membrane means that we hardly need any lighting during the day on clear days, and it also acts as a screen that reflects the changes in the sky. We've done away with the traditional fixed seats and introduced a free address system where engineers can choose their favorite seat depending on the work they're doing that day, so under this large ceiling, engineers can work while freely choosing an environment that's comfortable for them. We've provided a space where they can hide for a bit, but since it's basically a one-room space, if you look down from the fourth floor, it's obvious who the engineers working here are where. The exchange of glances between engineers stimulates various ideas and creativity.

This architectural project was selected as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (at the time) Low CO2 Housing and Buildings Leading Project, so I collected actual data on lighting and air conditioning for three years after completion, and visited the building frequently. I was very happy, but also nervous, to have the opportunity to find out how much natural energy was being used and how the building was being used. However, since we discussed thoroughly what kind of space we would create at the beginning of the project, everyone was using it with determination. It was like, "We chose it, so what would happen if we didn't use it?" What I gain insight from is the parts that are not used as we all discussed, or are used in unexpected ways. For example, I was surprised that the dark, secluded space we created a little behind the building was very popular. ROKI's sales have doubled in the last five years, making a big jump, which means we can say we have overcome the chasm. We have come to understand that companies can grow overwhelmingly by changing their environment.

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PROFILE

architect

Tetsuo Kobori

Kobori Tetsuo

Born in Gifu Prefecture in 1971. After completing his Master's degree in Civil Engineering at Hosei University Graduate School of Engineering (Jinnouchi Hidenobu Laboratory) in 1997, he joined Kume Sekkei. In 2008, he established Kobori Tetsuo Architectural Design. In 2017, he won the Architectural Institute of Japan Award and the JIA Japan Architecture Grand Prize for "ROKI Global Innovation Center -ROGIC-" in the same year. In 2019, he won his second JIA Japan Architecture Grand Prize for "NICCA INNOVATION CENTER". He has received numerous awards, including the BCS Award and the AACA Excellence Award. His other major works include "Showa Gakuen High School" and "Minamisoma City Fire and Disaster Prevention Center", and his latest work is "Baiko Gakuin University The Learning Station CROSSLIGHT".

OTHER DISCUSSIONS

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.53

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.52

Next-generation transportation and future urban planning [Part 2]

Professor Akinori Morimoto, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University; President, City Planning Institute of Japan

R&D DISCUSSION Vol.51

Next-generation transportation and future urban planning [Part 1]

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.50

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Nobuyuki Ueda Professor Emeritus of Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Director of Neo Museum

R&D DISCUSSION Vol.49

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Nobuyuki Ueda Professor Emeritus of Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Director of Neo Museum

R&D DISCUSSION Vol.48

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.47

Light is Life: Humans on the Solar Earth [Part 2]

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.46

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol45

Building fire-resistant wooden buildings [Part 2]

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.44

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Noboru Yasui, Architect and Chairman of NPO team Timberize

R&D DISCUSSION Vol.43

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.42

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.41

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.40

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.39

Data-driven urban development that makes people happy [Part 1]

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.38

Japan's Strategy for Achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050 [Part 2]

Takuzo Saito Director of the Evaluation and Assessment Department, Housing and Construction Center, Better Living Foundation

R&D DISCUSSION Vol.37

Japan's strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 [Part 1]

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.36

The "extra" required for architecture revealed through regional projects [Part 2]

Yasushi Takeuchi Professor, Tohoku Institute of Technology (-2021), President and CEO, Abisei Planning Co., Ltd. (2022-)

R&D DISCUSSION Vol.35

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.34

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.33

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.32

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.31

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.30

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.29

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.28

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.27

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.26

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.25

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.23

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.22

Architecture in Film: Special Effects TV and Comedy Films of the 1960s [Part 2]

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.21

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.19

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.18

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.16

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.13

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.12

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.11

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.10

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Tetsuo Kobori Architect

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.08

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.07

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.06

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R&D DISCUSSION Vol.04

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R&D TOP

Update : 2018.09.21

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