Sasameza: Commercial Buildings of Eight Tenants with A Double Roof and Local Production

These twins, two-story commercial buildings are located in the Kamakura city, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Designed by Yuji Tanabe Architects, Sasameza has eight tenants with a double roof. The local production is set as a theme for local consumption, giving a comprehension to the people about the importance of transport energy reduction and also the forest maintenance.

Design

A double roof inside the facade of Sasameza is inspired by many of the stores around this building have double roofs facade too. Those shops can make the people around feel 100 years ago culture of Kamakura villa. The architect also considers dividing the building site and also sell it, so the arrangement of the two twin-like buildings can also form a courtyard.

Structure

The planar shape of this building is different based on the site shape with the total floor area. The water under the building roof slope of each building is taken to create a sense of unity. The architect also set some opening parts on the court and passage area. Those parts are connected and spread to the next wing of the building.

Materials

The double beams and offset column are the structural material visualization in the interior space os Sasameza. With these materials, the entire building has a sense of unity even when some different tenants move in. The outdoor area consists of double roofs, wooden decks, outdoor stairs, that made using fastening and brackets methods.

Production

The architect uses local production for local consumption as a building theme to give a good understanding of how important the energy reduction is. It is also about maintenance of the forest, so the architect enters a mountain forest with a builder, a forester, and a client in Hakone, starting a careful selection to harvest some trees. Those trees will be the beams and columns of Sasameza.

Sasameza