You either love it or hate it, as we’re talking about a project located in a densely populated and historically rich urban context in Tokyo. Anyone who believes in the power of architecture will think again about this building by Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture, designed to help you slow down from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Cuadro Nakano North is the name it goes by, clad in concrete over a width of 4.7 square metres and a depth of 14 square metres. Anyone looking at it from the outside doesn’t realise it’s warm and tactile, hence the surprise factor it holds when you get to know it from the inside. Geometrically arranged, the parallelepiped doesn’t forgo rulers and set squares, but in order to break the monotony of minimalism it creates an optical effect from the recesses and projections of certain rooms, which will receive a little more (or less) sunlight, depending on the need. That’s the difference between being simple and simplistic.
