Interview about Urawa Garden Bldg. Office, winner of the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award 2025
This office redefines urban integration by embedding a public passage into its design. Inspired by historical street grids, it blends a floating glass cube facade with open plazas, linking past and present. The dynamic interplay of transparency and solid mass reflects the city’s transformation, fostering collaboration and creativity. Thoughtfully incorporating natural materials, greenery, and art, the space enhances user experience while promoting sustainability. Embracing urban flow and inclusivity, it becomes a landmark, revitalizing city life and strengthening community engagement.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe public passage was conceived as a modern reinterpretation of Urawa’s historical street grids. By embedding a pedestrian route through the site, the building reconnects fragmented urban layers—linking the past of the old Nakaginza Seven street with the city’s new commercial axis. This architectural gesture embodies my belief that office buildings should not isolate themselves, but rather contribute to the rhythm of public life and collective movement.
The floating glass cubes express openness and lightness within an urban context dominated by dense structures. The varying transparency was inspired by the gradation of reflection found in water surfaces—sometimes revealing, sometimes concealing. This controlled transparency allows the building to act as both mirror and lantern, symbolizing the balance between visibility and quiet presence in the cityscape.
The Edo-period layout of narrow alleys and sequential courtyards deeply informed the project’s spatial rhythm. The through passage inherits that intimate scale, creating a layered urban experience that unfolds gradually. The design reflects how the cultural DNA of Urawa—its modesty and rhythm—can be reinterpreted within contemporary architecture.
We selected materials that evoke calm and continuity—white aluminum panels, glass, and living green walls. The integration of greenery is not decorative but conceptual: it symbolizes regeneration and the continuity between architecture and life. The resulting atmosphere blurs the boundary between work and relaxation, embodying the “symbiosis with greenery” that defines the project.
The main challenge was realizing the floating glass cubes within a lightweight yet rigid frame. We developed a hybrid structure combining steel and aluminum mullions with high-performance seals to ensure precision and durability. The process required millimeter-level coordination, but the result was a facade that appears weightless—an architectural expression of gravity suspended.
The through passage evolved from a functional shortcut to a symbolic public connector. During the design process, it transformed into a space that absorbs urban movement while offering a sense of calm. The continuous ceiling lighting guides pedestrians like a thread of light, creating an experience of transition—between exterior and interior, city and office.
Art plays a crucial role in shaping the building’s emotional identity. We curated works by internationally acclaimed artists such as Lee Ufan and Jim Dine to create a dialogue between art and architecture. Their presence transforms the workplace into a contemplative environment, aligning with the client’s “Vision Cycle” philosophy of continuous creativity.
We combined passive design strategies—daylight optimization, natural ventilation, and deep eaves—with energy-efficient LED lighting and smart controls. The building achieves significant energy reduction without sacrificing brightness or comfort. Sustainability here is not a technical requirement but a design ethic embedded in every spatial decision.
The project reaffirmed that future offices must go beyond efficiency—they must become urban ecosystems. By allowing permeability between workspaces and public life, architecture can foster creativity, empathy, and civic engagement. The URAWA GARDEN BLDG. Office demonstrates how an office can act as both workplace and public infrastructure.
Since its completion in 2024, the building has revitalized the surrounding district, attracting pedestrian flow and redefining the area’s visual identity. It has become a symbolic threshold where work, culture, and greenery intersect. This success reinforced my conviction that architecture should serve as a living interface between people and the evolving city.
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