つらなる「環境の地理」

​

都市部の産科施設。従来の医療施設は機能性重視の建築計画によって、閉塞的で、ややもすると非人間的になる傾向がある。それらを踏まえここでは新たな方法として、地形や街中を歩いているような、様々な気配の連なる地理のようなもの（環境の地理）をつくることによって、不安で緊張した気持ちで訪れ滞在する人々にとって、安心し気持ちが開放され、居心地良く、発見的で、寄り添いのある場所をつくることを目指した。

それらは、以下の方法によって実現しようとした。

1.既存環境を取り込み、多様化する：不整形な土地形状や高低差を利用し、建物内に多様な場をつくるきっかけとした。土地の形状は平面の軸となり、また植栽鉢、天窓、雨受けの形状として現れ、場に変化や密度を与えている。周辺にはほとんど緑が無いため敷地角の既存大樹（欅と桜）を保存し、それらを避けて1階を配置し、内部とも関係づけをしている。

​

2.内外を連続的に扱い、ほどかれた場所をつくる： 幹線道路等に囲われ外側には開放しづらく、内側に様々な様相の光庭を配した。建物中央には、複数の光庭を内包する大きな中庭もある。各光庭やその周辺内部空間を含め、あまり仕上には使われない二次的な素材を内外連続的に使用し、ラフさのある開放的な雰囲気とした（床：モルタル・RC平板、壁：CB積み・吹付材・RC打放し、仕切り・建具：エキスパンドメタル、照明：ラインブラケット、など）。

 

3.自然や生命を感じられる、発見的な環境をつくる：敷地内には地域在来の植物のみを植え、あちらこちらで移ろう光やこの土地の花々、それらに誘われた鳥や蝶などと出会う。雨の日には、各所の天窓に降り落ちる雨の波紋が、壁や床でさざめき、光庭では「雨走り」や「雨落し」によって小さな川や滝が現れる。各所にもうけた窓の間を風がわたり、また抜けや吹抜の向こう側には、新しい母親の姿や、生まれ出てきたばかりの命の姿が垣間見え、時おり力強い泣き声も聞こえてくる。

​

4.包摂されたような、感情的な気配を配置する：ペンダントやブラケットの落ち着いた温かみのある灯光や、その凹凸を自然から採った2色に彩色した木毛板、様々な色合いの家具を、その場の性質に向き合いながら配置し、感情的な気配を重ねた。感情の起伏（不安、悲しみ、安らぎ、喜び、など）に応答したいと考えた。

​

5.周辺と向き合い、多様な連関を結ぶ：敷地三方に歩道をつくり、2つの敷地角の既存大樹の周りには、まち角の広がりをつくった。南東角では隣接する高層建物に向かって徐々に屋根を持ち上げ連動させるとともに入口の表情をつくり、また各開口部は内外の環境を反映したサイズと配置とし、固有の表情を持たせた。外観は地域の外壁に多く見られるグレー色を基調に、植物を引き立てる濃いグレーとした1階のリング状のボリュームに対し、ズレて浮かんだ2,3階の外壁は薄いグレーとし、対比しつつも調和させている。
 

日本建築学会 2024年度建築九州賞 奨励作品　撮影：矢野紀行（一部、鈴木理考）

​

​​​​

Obstetrics in Nanakuma

​

The “Geography of the Environment” in a series of

​

Maternity facilities in urban areas. Conventional medical facilities tend to be claustrophobic and somewhat impersonal due to architectural planning that emphasizes functionality. In response to this tendency, we have taken a new approach by creating a kind of “geography of environment,” a geography of various signs and sounds, as if one were walking through the topography or the city, in order to create a place where people who come and stay with anxious and nervous feelings can feel at ease, relaxed, comfortable, discoverable, and close to others. We aimed to create a place that is comfortable, open, discoverable, and welcoming.

The following methods were used to achieve these goals.

1. Incorporating and diversifying the existing environment: The irregular shape of the land and the difference in elevation were used as an opportunity to create a variety of places within the building. The shape of the land forms the axis of the plan, and also appears in the form of planting pots, skylights, and rain catchers, adding variety and density to the site. Since there is almost no greenery in the surrounding area, the existing large trees (zelkova and cherry) at the corner of the site were preserved, and the ground floor was arranged to avoid them, thus creating a relationship between the interior and the exterior.

​

2. Creating a place where the inside and outside are treated as a continuum, and a place where the inside and outside are separated: Because the building is surrounded by a main road, it is difficult to open the building to the outside. In the center of the building, there is a large courtyard that contains several light gardens. Secondary materials, which are not often used for finishing, are used continuously inside and outside, including each light garden and the surrounding interior spaces, to create a rough and open atmosphere (floors: mortar and RC slabs; walls: CB piles, sprayed materials, and fair-faced RC; partitions and fittings: expanded metal; lighting: line brackets, etc.).

 

3. Creating a discoverable environment where one can feel nature and life: Only plants native to the region are planted on the site, and here and there one encounters the shifting light, local flowers, and birds and butterflies attracted by these plants. On rainy days, ripples of rain falling through the skylights on the walls and floors, and small rivers and waterfalls appear in the light garden by “raindrops” and “rain drops. The wind blows through the windows, and beyond the openings and the atrium, we can catch glimpses of the new mother and the newborn, and sometimes we can even hear their powerful cries.

 

4. Placement of inclusive, emotional signs: The calm, warm light from the pendants and brackets, the wood and wool boards whose unevenness was colored in two colors taken from nature, and the furniture in various shades were arranged to face the nature of the place and layered with emotional signs. We wanted to respond to the ups and downs of emotions (anxiety, sadness, comfort, joy, etc.).

 

5. Facing the surroundings and connecting with the various interconnections: Walkways were created on three sides of the site, and the existing large trees at the two corners of the site were surrounded by the expanse of the town square. At the southeast corner, the roof is gradually raised toward the adjacent high-rise building to create an entrance expression, and each opening is sized and arranged to reflect the interior and exterior environment, giving the building a unique expression. The exterior of the building is based on a gray color, which is often seen on exterior walls in the area. The ring-shaped volume on the first floor is a dark gray color that complements the plants, while the exterior walls on the second and third floors, which are offset from the building, are a lighter gray color, creating a contrasting yet harmonious appearance.

​

Photographed by Toshiyuki Yano (in part by Yoshitaka Suzuki)​

​

Translated with DeepL.com