Rock Belay Building

Conceived as an adjunct to the offices behind, the building maximizes the side street frontage, and together with a structural system with a single pillar, steps back from the main street at ground floor providing a passage to the entrance of both buildings. This solitary pillar and perimeter wall structure provides the offices a sense of spatial openness together with a distinctive scale of façade to the busy streetscape. Single-cell toilet units allow adjustment according to the male/female ratio, and combined with a highly compact core achieves an efficient rentable rate exceeding 90%.

• Japan Federation of Architects & Building Engineers Association Award 2007