Park Biz Wakayama
We renovated a tenant building near Wakayama Castle in Wakayama City into a café and shared office space, creating a new hub for interaction to revitalize the central business district of this regional city.
Drawing inspiration from the unique stone walls surrounding historic Wakayama Castle, each displaying distinct characteristics from different eras, we sought to regenerate a landscape that inherits the regional context befitting a castle town.
Using heavy stone materials on a building constructed 60 years ago presented significant seismic performance hurdles. However by employing sliced stone—an extremely thin, 1mm-thick natural stone—we overcame these hurdles, achieving both texture and seismic performance.
Inside, the lighting features uniquely curved sliced stones arranged in a single-stroke pattern, defying the conventional notions of stone as “heavy and rigid.”
The stained glass on the first floor, reminiscent of the castle stone walls symbolizing the existing building, remains intact. This collaboration between stone and diverse elements has created a new community hub connecting Wakayama’s tradition and future.
