2002 – Masunaga Optical – Makoto Saito

2002 – Masunaga Optical – Makoto Saito

2002 – Masunaga Optical – Makoto Saito

This small optical shop was designed by Makoto Saito. The building has two floors, the ground floor is a shop, and upstairs office. A glass cube shielded with vertical corten-steel bars. The appearence of the building an be understand as a reinterpretation of Mies van der Rohe’s hieratic office building architecture of the 50s and 60s in Chicago (Federal Center) and New York (Seagram Buildung). Of course in a completely different scale. The choice of rough corten-steel instead of perfectly black painted helps to integrate the building in the chaotic unconstant context of Tokyo.