Kino Architects

Nishinaiki Community Center

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura

NISHINAIKI COMMUNITY CENTER

Kino Architects

ARCHITECTS
Kino Architects

LOCATION
Japan

AREA
152 m²

CATEGORY
Community Center

DESIGN TEAM
Kino Architects, Kino Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Kai Nakamura

YEAR
2020

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Masahiro Kinoshita

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura

Text description provided by architect.

A community center for local residents in Shiga Prefecture. The site is part of a newly developed residential area in the countryside, but there are many old residents' houses in the vicinity. This town has a strong community association of residents.

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura

A wide variety of people, young and old, use the community center for summer festivals, senior citizens' meetings, children's meetings, etc.

We placed the hall in the center to make it an equal place for all residents. The hall is enclosed by an office and kitchen and a veranda, through which the hall opens to the street.

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura

The hall, with its high sidelights, is always bright and gives the impression of spaciousness. The rooms can be used individually or, if the partitions are opened, they become a continuous space. On festival days, the room is opened up and the hall is directly connected to the town.

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura

An eccentric appearance is not appropriate for a building used by many different types of residents, but I felt that a little symbolism would be better.

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura

So I chose a red color for the exterior walls, a color not found in the surrounding houses. Houses of similar size, shape, and color are lined up in the new residential area.

The aim is to become a no-context architecture where new and old residents can come together equally and to become a landmark of the town.

Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura


Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura
Nishinaiki Community Center
© Kai Nakamura


Nishinaiki Community Center
Ground Floor Plan
Nishinaiki Community Center
Site Plan


Nishinaiki Community Center
Diagram 01
Nishinaiki Community Center
Diagram 02

Kino Architects
T +81 3 69083460
Kino Architects
A101, 2-16-2 Shimoochiai, Shinjyuku-Ku, Tokyo, 161-0033, Japan