ArchtRoom

Thom Faulders has created an exterior building skin for a new four storey multi-family dwelling unit with photography studios in Tokyo, Japan designed by Hajime Masubuchi of Studio M. Located in the Kitamagome Ota-ku district, the site was previously occupied by the owner’s family with a residence uniquely wrapped by a layer of dense vegetation. Since the entire site is to be razed to accommodate construction for the new larger development, the design invents an architectural system that performs with similar attributes to the demolished green strip and creates an atmospheric space of activity. Conceived as a thin interstitial environment, the articulated densities of the new open-celled meshwork are layered in response to the inner workings of the building’s program. AirSpace Tokyo is a zone where the artificial blends with nature: sunlight is refracted along its metallic surfaces; rainwater is channeled away from exterior walkways via capillary action; and interior views are shielded behind its variegated and foliage-like cover. The complex pattern for Airspace Tokyo is developed in collaboration with Proces2 Design in San Francisco using parametric software. The dual-layered skins are constructed of an aluminum and plastic composite material often used for large billboards. 





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