planted staircase penetrates exposed concrete construction in tokyo by mamm design

mamm design has renovated a 33-year-old bookbinding factory into a four-story residence with an integrated office in tokyo, japan. in this project, the architects refrained from redesigning the structure, proceeding only to dismantling several pre-existing elements. the resulting construction presents an interesting blend of old and new characteristics, while concrete, brick, wood, and a new planted ‘green staircase’ complete the materiality palette of the project. 
all images courtesy of takumi ota

during the dismantling process, the past construction that emerged gave mamm design considerable inspiration for the refurbishment. the renovated structure combines both old and new ideas in order to ensure sufficient lighting and ventilation, as well as to facilitate circulation. in order to let natural light and wind permeate every corner of the house, the design team pulled apart the pre-existing closed staircase, and created a stairwell that penetrates the five floors from the first basement floor to the top of the building.‘at first, the idea was to remove all the RC stairs, but since the reinforcing bars appeared unexpectedly and beautifully during the dismantling, we left them as they were,’ the studio shares.

seeking to give a new finish to the outer wall, the architects tried to scrape the existing plastering finish, revealing the original glossy tiles. this emerging texture generates a pleasing contrast with the newly added greenery, thus adding one more element that brings past and present together. in this way, the renovation gives new meanings to the existing shapes and materials, and a new contemporary presence to the 33-year-old building.

project info:

name: mamm house
architects: mamm design
structural engineer: shuji tada structural design office
lighting designer: toh design
location: tokyo, japan
site area: 60.84 sqm (654.87 sqft)
building area: 36.48 sqm (392.66 sqft)
floor area: 143.15 sqm (1540.85 sqft)