Photography: SS Osaka

NTT West Kyoto Onmae Building is designed to serve as a center for NTT West Group's restoration activities when a natural disaster strikes. Maximized effective floor plate (rentability 86%) and lowered floor height (floor height: 3,750 mm, ceiling height: 2,700 mm) have allowed the affordable realization of one-room offices with a good air flow.
Creating a structural frame without binding beams by condensing structural columns of 3.2 m span and the structural braces on the outer periphery of the building allows minimization of facility space, notably the ceiling plenum, while also providing the flexibility required for future upgrades of the air-conditioning and ventilation equipment.
The design aims to achieve both an environmental effect through reduction of solar radiation load and harmony with Kyoto's landscape by creating shadings on the building exterior with the horizontal eaves and the extrusion-molded cement plate louvers. Window frames and exterior walls are composed of upper and lower supports without non-structural elements, and such structural ingenuity is directly incorporated in the design. The CASBEE class S ranking has been awarded for the user participation-style environment construction features.