Silver Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2024
Wooden Axis Large Roof Clinic and Pharmacy
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: TSC Architects
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 22,080
- Verification code 1253ED2E6A · Verify this award
About Wooden Axis Large Roof Clinic and Pharmacy
The site is located along an arterial road connecting the city center and the city center, with an urban planning road to the south that is scheduled to be widened, and future development is expected. In planning a new regional medical center, we were conscious of creating a space that is distinctly different from commercialistic road service architecture, with the warmth of wood and a gentle welcome for patients The three buildings are connected by a wooden Sunoko design code.
Within the evolving discourse of healthcare architecture that seeks to transcend the clinical anonymity often associated with medical facilities, this award-winning design by Yoshiaki Tanaka emerges as a thoughtful synthesis of regional building wisdom and contemporary spatial thinking, demonstrating how the act of healing might be architecturally supported through careful attention to material, form, and atmospheric quality. The commanding roof element, with its graceful upward curve reminiscent of both traditional roof profiles and the hull of a vessel, suggests the architect's engagement with what might be termed a phenomenology of shelter—the roof as primary architectural gesture offering protection, orientation, and symbolic embrace to those who approach in states of vulnerability. The material vocabulary speaks to an enduring appreciation for timber craftsmanship, with the horizontal screening system creating a permeable threshold between interior refuge and exterior environment while simultaneously providing solar mediation and visual privacy appropriate to medical consultation spaces. One observes particular accomplishment in the chromatic orchestration visible at this twilight hour, where the warm golden luminosity of the interior world offers itself as beacon against the cooling external atmosphere, perhaps intentionally evoking associations with hearth, sanctuary, and restorative warmth. The spatial layering evident in the composition—the projecting upper volume hovering above the transparent entry zone, the recessed porch spaces beneath generous overhangs—creates a measured architectural procession that honors the psychological needs of individuals approaching healthcare encounters. The integration of the sweeping roof form with the more rectilinear volumes below demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how geometric contrast can generate visual interest while maintaining functional coherence. Viewers might contemplate how architecture participates in the healing process, considering what role beauty, craft, and spatial generosity play in supporting human wellbeing during moments of physical concern.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The site is located along an arterial road connecting the city center and the city center, with an urban planning road to the south that is scheduled to be widened, and future development is expected. In planning a new regional medical center, we were conscious of creating a space that is distinctly different from commercialistic road service architecture, with the warmth of wood and a gentle welcome for patients The three buildings are connected by a wooden "sunoko" design code.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Site area: 2356.55 sqm
Orthopedic Clinic / built area 299.61 sqm / Total floor space: 489.54 sqm /
Internal Medicine Clinic / built area 211.39 sqm / Total floor space: 272.79 sqm /
Pharmacy/ built area 69.57 sqm / Total floor space: 91.90 sqm / - Tags
- Architecture, Hospital, Design, Life, Health, Public, Clinic, Wood, pharmacy
- Production Technology
- The exterior skin and openings are set on the outside of the shaft assembly, and openings are out-set in braces and other structural parts to create continuous windows and stepped windows, resulting in a transparent wood structure.
The sunoko walls (facade rattan) used for the exterior skin allow for better air flow, which dries faster and more durably than typical wooden exterior walls. - Design Challenge
- TSC Architects aimed to create a building with a bright and warm feeling of wood, so that the wooden framework would appear as the interior. Therefore, we verified the structure so that it would be beautifully expressed, and let the placement of the rafters be determined. The rafter-exposed ceiling guides the eye to the view outside. We also considered installing large-opening exterior sashes on the outside of the structure to create a wooden structure with a sense of transparency.
- Project Duration
- Project duration did from July 2021 to January 2023.
Location is 64 Asahigaoka, Minamisakae, Owariasahi City, Aichi Prefecture. - Operation Flow
- The design codes of the three buildings are aligned with the sunoko walls to bring a sense of unity. The wooden framework creates a warm and welcoming treatment space as an interior design. Large openings to the full ceiling create a pleasant space illuminated by gentle natural light.
- Research
- A project to build an orthopedic surgery, an internal medicine clinic, and a pharmacy on a single site. TSC Architects was conscious of creating a space that is distinctly different from commercialistic road service architecture, with the warmth of wood and a gentle welcome to patients. The three buildings, with their combined design codes, work together to create a townscape that serves as a medical hub for the community.
- Inspiration
- The three clients wanted to build an internal medicine, orthopedics, and pharmacy on a single site, and they wanted to align their design codes with a bright atmosphere. Therefore, TSC Architects used "sunoko" on the exterior to unify the design code, with the interior representing a wooden shaft to give the warmth of the wood.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer ToLoLo studio
Image #2: Photographer ToLoLo studio
Image #3: Photographer ToLoLo studio
Image #4: Photographer ToLoLo studio
Image #5: Photographer ToLoLo studio