Aiikuen Clinic

Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Photo © Hiroyuki Hirai

Clinics

Architects: Miurashin Architect+Associates

Location: Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Year: 2003

This is a reconstruction of a 40-year-old clinic located in a tranquil neighborhood near Mizumoto park. We started with the concept of maximizing patient-oriented space, and throughout the designing process we kept in mind how visitors would perceive the height of the rooms.

The standard room height on the 1st floor (where examination rooms are) was set to 3.5m, and within the larger space small rooms with a height of 2.4m were created using reinforced concrete walls. In contrast, the standard ceiling height on the 2nd floor (inpatient ward) was 2.1m, with 5.2m-high rooms set into this space. Thus, we proceeded along two parallel but opposite design principles at the same time: enclosed rooms in an open space on the first floor, and liberated areas within an enclosed space on the second floor.

Because two spatial layers of different heights exist on each floor, when we move within the space we encounter various vertical and spatial scales, creating an interesting sort of tension within our every-day environment.