I don’t know how else to put it. This project, Airspace Tokyo, by Faulders Studio makes me so happy. It is not the volume of the house we’re talking about here, it’s the skin. This new four-story multifamily abode with professional photography studios creates a 3,000 sq ft exterior building in the Kitamagome Ota-ku district of Tokyo, Japan and grew takes the place of a previous residence, which had held the site before being razed for the new development. The old residence was possessing of a unique facade system which wrapped the entire volume in a layer of dense vegetation.
photography by © Ryota Atarashi; Tatsuo
The new facade gives an architectural- replication is not quite the right word, perhaps reinvention- of the old system. And this is the part which fills me with joy. You know all those great facades which show up in studio projects and all over the web? They are truly one of the defining facets of where architecture today seems to be progressing. It is very encouraging to see more and more of these schemes actually being built.
photography by © Ryota Atarashi; Tatsuo
This ‘artificial vegetation’ performs similarly to the previous facade, providing shading and reflection of excess light away from the building, as well as channeling water away from the building and exterior walkways by way of capillary action. The skin exists as a thin interstitial environment of several layers. The overlaying of layers of the porous, open-celled meshwork changes densities as it moves across the facade, responding to the building’s internal program.
photography by © Ryota Atarashi; Tatsuo
Project info :
Architect: Faulders Studio
Year: 2007
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Photography: Ryota Atarashi
Work started in: 2003
Work finished in: 2007
Client: Privato
Status: Completed works
Type: Apartments / Office buildings, skyscrapers
Design team: Screen Façade Design: Thom Faulders, with Proces2 in San Francisco Building Design: Studio M/Hajime Masubuchi in Tokyo
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.