Kuromatsunai Town Hall Renovation / Disaster Prevention Center

This project involved the large-scale repair (earthquake proofing and insulation) of a Government Office Building, which had stood for more than 50 years, and the expansion of the Disaster Prevention Center. The existing Government Office Building has a particularly impressive appearance due to its green sheet metal roof and reddish orange brick walls, and town regulations demanded that this plan adopt a dark green pitched roof. These conditions also demanded that the RC skeleton and wooden roof trusses of the existing building be kept, and we pursued our plans while balancing the need for functional improvement and the problem of the conflict between the old and new.
In terms of function, the Government Office Building and Disaster Prevention Center are united, and our goal was to allow adequate functionality on a daily basis. The area allotted for the enlargement of the Disaster Prevention Center was a single span on the southern side of the building, and the entrance hall in the existing Government Building was secured. By the creation of additional depth, the disordered desk layout was rearranged. The remaining area allotted for enlargement was the Disaster Prevention Center on the northern side of the building, which was planned to be added at the same width as the existing building. This Center functions as a base for anti-disaster measures in an emergency, and provides community facilities for citizens and additional space for the government offices on a regular basis. The central colonnade forms a deep recessed area which is utilized as a staff service zone, and ventilation is generally supplied from the high side by wind.
The exposed concrete internal walls were repaired and painted white only where defective. The contrast formed between the shaded concrete walls and the fresh new white surfaces helps remind us of the time elapsed since the building’s initial construction. The ceiling height of the new extension is also greatly influenced by the existing building, with a variety of expanses created through the union of the old and new.
For the outside of the existing Government Office Building, with its dark green sheet metal roof set on trusses and brick walls, we adopted the same old-new design technique. In addition, we took particular pains with the details so as to avoid revealing the junctions between the old and new portions and enhanced the overall unity of appearance by adding details, such as eaves and continuous windows, of similar design.
We aimed at reproducing the original appearance while leaving existing features.