Kasiwa, Chiba, Japan
CICOL is a child care facility on the first floor of a high-rise apartment building, located one hour from central Tokyo at the Kashiwano-ha station plaza. The area is popular for young parents who are also working professionals, and the project aims to create an architecture that connects home, child care, business, and recreational life into one space.
A large centre core volume divides the spaces of the floor plan, with large columns and pipe shafts distributed throughout the plan. The columns are re-considered as an opportunity, and each is designed to create spontaneous, adaptable interaction. At the inner corners of the columns and pipe shafts, the columns are designed with built-in sofas, furniture, book shelves, and other architectural elements. Each column becomes a secondary space within the circulation of the plan, existing as intermediate sub-spaces of the primary space. Within the playroom, parents are assisted by a small “floating” volume under a double-height ceiling, which allows parents to work while watching over their playing children.
