Ykk corporation is an international manufacturer in zippers and building components such as aluminum sashes. The headquarter is located in Tokyo. After the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, half of the functions of the headquarters was decided to move to Kurobe, where the main factory is located. In this situation, this company would like to develop a new dormitory area (which is named as K-town) in Kurobe for the staffs who will move from Tokyo.
YKK designated the site which is close to the railway station for K-town project. They want to revitalize the declining area by bring younger people. The most characteristic of this project is that the dormitory’s configuration is different from the conventional dormitories, an enclosed arrangement. Our proposal integrates the dormitory and the neighboring residential area.
K-hall is not only a shared facility for YKK's employee dormitory in K-town, but also a public facility for citizens. Its unique appearance enhance the value of the station square. K-hall is located at the pivotal point that connects the two ‘villages’ in the K-town.
This architecture consists of three tubes with the half pointed-arched section, providing rich visual experience for the street. The longest tube in the foyer of multi-purpose hall (on the second floor) is bent to visually connect the station square in the north with the beautiful mountain range and dormitory sheds in the east. The interior of this tube is covered with thin cider board arched between steel channel painted in white. This small and shallow arches resonates with a large arch of the tube in a Gothic church.
Location: Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Completion date: July, 2017
Client: YKK
Architect: A.P.L. design workshop. OHNO, Hidetoshi, EGUCHI, Hideki, YAMAMOTO, Shinya, KONO, Yusuke, IWATA, Shinichiro HOKAMURA, Kazutaka
Structural engineering:MI+D architectural structure laboratory
Mechanical and Electrical engineer: Sogo Setsubi Consulting Co.,Ltd
Lighting design:EOS Plus
Acoustic engineering:SAKUMA Tetsuya(University of Tokyo)
Contracotrs: Matsui Kensetsu
Site area：676,59㎡
Floor area：614.82㎡
Photo: KITAJIMA Toshiharu/ Archi Photo
