shushi architects revitalizes kamiyama 'omoya' house for sansan workers

tokyo-based studio shushi architects revitalizes and reprograms a traditional omoya house as a residential office space ‘kamiyama lab’ for japanese tech company sansan. this project marks the third addition to the company’s satellite lab in kamiyama, an endeavor which began in 2010. the collection of three spaces are comprised of the naya (barn), koya (cowshed), and shushi architect’s newly completed omoya (main house). each of the structures date back nearly one hundred years and are clustered together within the site on japan’s shikoku island.

all images by hisao suzuki

shushi architects introduces the omoya, or main house, as an extension of tech company sansan’s kamiyama lab. while the two existing projects — naya and koya — within the kamiyama development each serve as a satellite workspace, the omoya addition is conceived to improve the living environment of employees, offering a space for both accommodation and training. the heritage building is artfully renovated with respect for the traditional architectural language and renovate it so that workers can spend comfortably.

renovated by shushi architects, the omaya kamiyama lab for sansan is organized as a cluster of the three heritage structures which surround a centralized courtyard. this courtyard with its picturesque cherry tree, together with the existing northern entrance to omoya, had become underutilized and dim. before the revitalization, visitors typically parked along the west side of house and passed between koya and omoya and approached the pre-existing kitchen door. the team at shushi architects thus reprogrammed the kitchen into a new meeting space which opened outward to the cherry blossom terrace that connects koya and naya. the pre-existing entrance is in turn programmed as a new kitchen, expressing a welcoming atmosphere to guests.