As I stand by this great, restless river, it makes me think that the inner city and the suburbs, the east and the west, and the future and the past, are all separated by this divide of "Kan-nana", even though it is located on the southwest border of the uptown heights "Megurodai", which forms the uptown area in Tokyo. And from here I can overlook the steep sloped Jiyugaoka, one of the prominent residential areas in Tokyo containing Komazawa Park, or can even overlook Tanzawa Mountains and Mt. Fuji in the far distance.
This building, a Chinese restaurant, was designed to face the "West". The owner-chef of this Chinese restaurant, who has in the past wandered around China, searching for a way to become healthy by means of diet, has for many years now established himself as the owner of this prominent restaurant. And in rebuilding it , he wanted something different from an ordinary Chinese-style restaurant.
"Ko-Ga Stone" seemed to me the most suitable stone to be used, because it could endure flames of up to 1200Ž and also absorb noise exceeding 70 phon. When in 1981 I participated in the excavation of Mesopotamian ruins dating back to over 4500 years ago, I learnt that the dome was the primary form in architectural history, and this was one of the ideas I had in mind when planning this building. The stones, showing their immense existence, which may seem to be in the middle of being piled up or collapsing, play the role of shore protection as it is obligated to stand by the continuous flow of vitality of the big city -- facing the west, far beyond Mt. Fuji, the Chinese continent and Mesopotamia.
The "Ko-Ga Stone" walls wrap and surround the inner space from the roads in this corner site, and are formed in three layers along the emergency staircase. The floors one to four, that are cut off from the "Kan-nana" by these layers of walls, are build in a way so that as one goes up each floor, the southside view from the window expands more to the west, and the top fifth floor has a view of almost 360 degrees. The guest floors are located on the first through the third and the fifth floors, and each floor is designed differently depending on the characteristics of the guests.
The lift, the vermilion-colored cage that goes up and down the glass-covered walls, connects all the floors including the private rooms for the owner on the fourth floor and the basement parking. And the people who come close to the building would recognize unconsciously that this functions as the main circulation. As you look down and watch the cars passing by from the lounge on the top floor under the dome, you may feel the time passing by. Also, the sunset that you gaze sitting on the specially-designed tall chair, must remind you of your precious time that has almost been forgotton in this busy city life.
In an era in which people are more intent than ever on looking back to the past, history is now considered as an important criteria among diverse values judgements. However, if one thinks of architecture as something human has to coexist with, history can contribute to architecture not just as a metaphor, but more substantially. I wonder if this building will still be looking beyond the west, when the 7th beltway "Kan-nana", 60 kilometers in length, is completely shielded by a wall of towering buildings.
Naomi Iguchi, Architect