Smoking Box in Tokyo

Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi

SMOKING BOX IN TOKYO

R/urban Design Office

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
ASA, Akira Suzuki

CATEGORY
Public Space

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Tomohiko Amemiya

YEAR
2020

DESIGN TEAM
R/urban Design Office, Tomohiko Amemiya, Yuta Hosoya, Shuhei Ogawa

CLIENT
Hamura City

LANDSCAPE
Masako Yamazaki, GA Yamazaki

LOCATION
Japan

CONSULTANTS
Marc Planning Corporation

Text description provided by architect.

A small smoking space combining two shipping containers appeared in front of a railway station in Tokyo, reflecting the increasing need for isolated smoking spaces for the purpose of preventing second-hand smoke.

Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi

The site is the space left between the station platform, the escalator and elevator to the station, and the police box. We put two 20-foot shipping containers here, one horizontally and one vertically.

About half of the horizontally placed container is external space so that they can be used continuously with the surrounding area.

Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi

The vertically placed container has a 5 meters high ceiling space, and the rising airflow exhausts smoke from the upper part of the container, reducing the cost for the air cleaner machine.

The two containers are arranged diagonally to reduce the pressure on surrounding people.

Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi

Large windows frame the surrounding daily landscape, allow light and wind pass by, and place visitors in the midst of the ordinary scenery around the station.

A good "scent" planting (Orange osmanthus, Daphne odora, Gardenia, Chinese quince, Meratia praecox, Agnus castus, Brazilian sage) was planted in the niches created by the diagonal arrangement.

Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi
Smoking Box in Tokyo
© Hayato Wakabayashi

By reversing the unpleasant image of "smelly" smoking area, we aimed to create a comfortable place for both smokers and non-smokers as like a natural park.


Smoking Box in Tokyo
Site Plan
Smoking Box in Tokyo
First Floor Plan


Smoking Box in Tokyo
East Elevation
Smoking Box in Tokyo
South Elevation


Smoking Box in Tokyo
Section A
Smoking Box in Tokyo
Section B