Set amid the expansive rice fields of Hashima City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, the Office in Hashima presents a facade that is deeply shaped by its rural context. The office is designed by Permanent and Atelier Nagara as the headquarters for a civil engineering and real estate firm. The facade is defined by a steeply pitched, undulating roof that rises toward the east and descends low to the ground, forming deep eaves that ripple across the structure. Inspired by the rhythmic sway of rice crops, the gently rippling roofline introduces movement and softness to the building’s silhouette. Executed in standing seam metal, the roof surface becomes a responsive skin, reflecting shifting daylight, rainfall and seasonal changes. Its metallic skin mirrors the evolving colours of the sky.
Slender steel columns support the extended eaves, lending lightness and visual permeability to the facade. On the southern side, large glazed openings are carefully paired with low eaves to regulate sunlight and acts as a transitional buffer between the office and its rural context. Verandas and engawa-like transitional zones sit beneath the roof. Finished in blackened timber and enclosed with sliding glass doors, this zone establishes a layered sequence of spaces that mediate between inside and outside. This semi external zone also functions as a circulation route and a place for informal pause, offering employees’ moments of rest and visual connection with the landscape.
THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED JOINTLY BY PERMANENT AND ATELIER NAGARA
PERMANENT and Atelier Nagara share a design philosophy rooted in context, continuity and time. PERMANENT seeks to create enduring spaces that integrate seamlessly with their surroundings, drawing from cultural memory while generating new values that remain relevant for the future. Atelier Nagara, named after the Nagara River in Gifu, approaches architecture as an accumulation of small, responsive elements, much like streams shaping the land before becoming a river. Guided by nature and the passage of time, the studio focuses on crafting buildings that belong naturally to their place and the people who inhabit them.
PROJECT DETAILS
Project name: Office in Hashima
Typology: Office
Location: Hashima, Japan
Area: 302 m²
Year: 2025
Studio: Atelier Nagara Architectural Design Office and PERMANENT Co Ltd
Construction: Hacoya Co Ltd
Structure: Takashi Manda Structural Design
Lighting Planner: Filaments Inc
Landscape Designer: Somewhere Design Studio
Photographs: Kenta Hasegawa