Spinglass Architects

Hakata Minami Station is one stop on the Shinkansen bullet train from Hakata Station and is the gateway to Nakagawa Town with over 12,000 passengers/day. The town-owned Hakata Minami Ekimae Building adjacent to the station was completed in 2004. Although the building is located in a favorable environment with a spacious artificial ground (Hakata Minami Ekimae Park) on the second floor directly connected to the station and a bus terminal on the first floor, there were very few users inside the building. The issues were that the use of the building was unclear, it lacked a spatial appeal that would make people want to stop by, and it did not establish a relationship with the station or the man-made ground.

The town decided to make major repairs to the exterior walls and roof, as well as to the interior of the building, with the goal of creating a community development center that would be used by more residents. We decided on the concept of “Nakaichi, a place of exchange and celebration,” and set about designing a new facility that would be as lively as a marketplace.

In all ages and cultures, markets were places where people gathered to exchange not only goods but also information, and were lively festive spaces where arts and crafts were performed. It was also a place where people would visit even if they had no purpose, a third place as we call it today. In order to transform it into such a place, it was necessary to redefine not only the hardware but also the content and style of its use. Prior to the renovation, the town had commissioned an outside contractor to conduct a series of trials of use through various events over the previous two years, so the design process was able to incorporate these trials. This process can be used as a reference elsewhere.

We contrasted each of the four floors with a different “city” theme. While reusing as much of the existing structure as possible for budgetary reasons, we were careful to use colors and signage appropriate to the place so that the residents would perceive it as “different. The glass curtain wall on the entire west side was covered with thermal insulation film to conserve energy. The exterior wall on the station side was painted to make the building appear symbolic and three-dimensional from a distance, and the bridge leading to the station was repainted to have a gated appearance and emphasize the approach to the station building, thereby improving the overall appearance of the surrounding area.