Circular Port

This project emerged as the plan for a new warehouse for a Japanese company with Circular Design as its theme.

The client company operates a circular business that connects people and goods through reuse. We focused on their sustainable initiatives.

In this project, four types of reuse businesses—cars, fashion, antiques, and plants—are consolidated into one building, each cycling through its own loop. The architecture serves as a "HUB" connecting these cycles, which we’ve named the “Circular Port”.

As a distinctive feature, end-users have the opportunity to enter the warehouse, which they wouldn't normally access, and observe the process from inspection, repair, photography, storage, to shipping, much like window-shopping. By planning the shape to link human traffic flow with the process flow, one can experience the "circularity" occurring within the building and witness the transformation of products.

Various sustainable initiatives are implemented in the architecture. Specifically, passive design utilizing solar energy, rainwater, geothermal energy, and wind, is incorporated. Furthermore, by adjusting the form of the exterior from the operation of eaves and louvers, and actively using wood and recycled building materials in the design, the project aims to contribute sustainably to nature through architecture.

By pursuing a circular society and incorporating both experiential facility programming and sustainable architectural methods, we aim to create a new “HUB”.