Architects:Yoshitaka Suzuki and Associates

Area:1317m²

Year:2024

Photographs:Toshiyuki Yano,Yoshitaka Suzuki

Category:Hospital

City:Fukuoka

Country:Japan

Text description provided by the architects. An obstetrics facility in an urban area. Here, we combined the methods listed below to attempt to create a kind of "geography"—a sequence of diverse atmospheres and environments that evoke the sensation of walking through the terrain or the city streets. Through these elements, we aimed to create a place where visitors and residents feel at ease, liberated, comfortable, and supported, with a sense of discovery.

Incorporating the existing environment to diversify the spaces: We utilized the irregular land shape and elevation changes as an opportunity to create diverse spaces within the building. The land's shape serves as an axis for the floor plan and manifests in the forms of planters, skylights, and rainwater collection systems, imparting variation and density to the spaces. We preserved the existing large trees at the corner of the site, arranged the first floor to avoid them, and established a connection between them and the interior.

Treating interior and exterior as a continuum to create an unconfined space: Surrounded by major roads, the exterior was difficult to open up, so we arranged light courts of various forms on the interior. By using materials consistently throughout the interior and exterior—including the light courts and the surrounding interior spaces—we created an open, unpretentious atmosphere.

Creating an environment of discovery where nature and life can be felt: Here and there, one encounters shifting light, local flowers, and the birds and butterflies drawn to them. On rainy days, the ripples of rain falling through skylights across the space create a gentle murmur on the walls and floors, while small streams and waterfalls appear in the light courts. As the wind passes through the windows, glimpses of new mothers and newborns can be seen beyond the openings and atriums, and the occasional sound of a strong cry can be heard.

Creating an atmosphere of emotional warmth and inclusiveness: We arranged pendant lights and wall sconces with their calm, warm glow, wood paneling with textures inspired by nature and painted in two colors, and furniture in various hues, all while considering the nature of each space, to layer an emotional atmosphere. We sought to respond to the ebb and flow of emotions.

Engaging with the surroundings and forging diverse connections: Around the existing large trees at the two corners of the site, we created expansive urban corners. The openings were sized and positioned to interact with the internal and external environments, giving them a unique character. The ring-shaped first-floor exterior walls were finished in a deep gray to highlight the plants, while the offset, floating second and third-floor exterior walls were finished in a light gray, creating a contrast that also achieves harmony.

Medical facilities are composed of a collection of small spaces, with almost no large ceremonial spaces. However, as described above, we aimed to create a building where a succession of casual, small experiences in these intimate spaces eventually coalesces into an indescribable whole.

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