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WATARU OMAMEUDA's Residential Complex presents a striking exercise in contemporary residential architecture, where the primary focal point emerges as a mid-rise apartment tower rendered in a meticulou
WATARU OMAMEUDA's Residential Complex presents a nocturnal architectural threshold study wherein warm timber materiality enters into chromatic dialogue with cool cerulean structural elements, establis
Tokyo Apartment Residential Complex by Wataru Omameuda and Hiroko Hayashi
Vertically grooved timber panels establish a warm tactile envelope throughout WATARU OMAMEUDA's Tokyo Apartment Residential Complex lobby interior, where rhythmic linear cladding in medium-toned natur
WATARU OMAMEUDA's Tokyo Apartment Residential Complex presents a luminous open-plan interior where blonde wood flooring establishes a warm horizontal datum running parallel to the picture plane, its l

Coplus Co,Ltd

Iron Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2025

Tokyo Apartment Residential Complex

by Wataru Omameuda and Hiroko Hayashi

  • A' Design Award 2025 Iron Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
  • Awarded April 15, 2025
  • CLIENT: Coplus Co,Ltd
  • Estimated Number of Design Views: 10,174
  • Verification code AC48D1B4BA · Verify this award
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About Tokyo Apartment Residential Complex

The view of the rows of ginkgo trees from this location is so comfortable that the window openings were chosen to reflect this comfort. It is a little different from what has been done before by fusing the design essence of the hotel with solving social issues such as living after the coronavirus pandemic, efforts to extend the lifespan of buildings and sustainable structures, and communities in apartment complex. It provides a spatial experience of an extraordinary lifestyle. The combination of simple, sturdy and unconventional materials gives it a calm and peaceful appearance in the city.

WATARU OMAMEUDA's Tokyo Apartment Residential Complex represents a thoughtful contribution to contemporary residential architecture, engaging with the ongoing discourse surrounding urban density, material expression, and the quest for architectural identity within tightly constrained metropolitan sites. The work appears to draw upon both the rigorous geometric traditions of rationalist architecture and the material subtlety characteristic of thoughtful design practice, synthesizing these influences into a composition that prioritizes clarity, proportion, and the disciplined orchestration of solid and void. The facade system demonstrates considerable compositional sophistication, organizing a relatively modest program of residential units into a coherent vertical expression through the consistent application of a modular fenestration rhythm, where paired window openings alternate with solid wall planes to establish a measured cadence that reads clearly from street level while maintaining visual interest through the interplay of light-filled apertures and shadow-rich balcony recesses. The chromatic restraint evident in the near-monochromatic palette suggests a deliberate strategy of contextual quietude, allowing the building to assert its presence through proportion and material refinement rather than chromatic or formal exuberance, a choice that demonstrates maturity and respect for the surrounding urban fabric while nonetheless achieving architectural distinctiveness through the precision of its execution. Technical merit emerges particularly in the handling of the facade's depth and layering, where the deep-set balconies and window reveals create a rhythm of recession and projection that activates the surface, casting ever-changing shadow patterns throughout the day that animate what might otherwise read as a static grid, transforming the building into a subtle solar instrument that registers the passage of time through the migration of light across its modulated surface. The material expression suggests careful attention to detail resolution and construction logic, with the horizontal coursing visible in the white cladding providing both visual texture and a legible expression of the building's assembly, while the crisp edges of window frames and balcony reveals speak to precise fabrication tolerances and thoughtful coordination between architectural intent and construction execution. Thematically, the work seems to explore questions central to contemporary urban residential architecture including how to achieve architectural identity within the constraints of modest scale and budget, how to balance the desire for individual dwelling expression with the coherence of the collective facade, how to provide private outdoor space in the form of balconies while maintaining facade integrity, and how to situate a new intervention within an established neighborhood context without resorting to either mimicry or aggressive contrast. The building's relationship to its immediate context, flanked by structures of varying heights and material characters, suggests a design approach that seeks harmonious coexistence rather than dominant singularity, contributing to the urban streetscape as a considerate neighbor rather than an attention-demanding monument, yet doing so without sacrificing architectural ambition or formal clarity. The integration of the verdant foreground trees into the overall composition, whether by design intent or photographic framing, creates a productive dialogue between the geometric order of human construction and the organic irregularity of natural growth, suggesting the possibility of environmental integration within dense urban settings and offering a momentary visual respite before the eye ascends the building's measured vertical progression. One might observe how the work invites contemplation of dwelling itself as an architectural program, the challenge of creating multiple individual homes within a single formal expression, balancing private needs with collective identity, and the ongoing negotiation between standardization enabling construction economy and variation providing experiential richness, questions that have animated residential architecture since the emergence of the apartment building typology, here addressed through restraint, proportion, and the careful calibration of repetition and relief.

Press Kit

Unique Properties
The view of the rows of ginkgo trees from this location was so pleasant that we intuitively decided on the position and orientation of the window openings to incorporate this into the living scene. We transformed the elements needed for homes in the current era into three concepts and designed them as an apartment community, a post-corona home, and a structural platform. In this way, we wanted to provide a space experience that is a bit different from what we have seen before, with an extraordinary feeling of living, like a hotel and a second home.
Dimensions & Packaging
Site area: 168.38Square meter Total floor area: 825.07Square meter Building coverage ratio: 64.65% Floor area ratio: 398.66% Structure: reinforced concrete structure Scale: 10 stories above ground Total number of units: 9 units
Tags
After-corona residence, Community, Structure design, hotel design, Openness
Production Technology
The shape of a tower apartment complex is determined by its structural design. Challenging structural stress transmission by eliminating the central reinforced concrete column and creating a void slab. In order to secure a view to the southwest, the south and west beams were turned into reverse beams. We designed these three structural ideas and the facade at the same time, and created a soft expression by using concrete formwork material with cedar planks for the pillars and beams.
Design Challenge
Many apartment complexes in Japan tend to focus too much on security and privacy, and not on the idea of community. As a result, face-to-face neighbor relations tend to occur, such as lack of building maintenance and aesthetics, and troubles between tenants. In this plan, we focused on the idea of a new community and the lounge as a place to create opportunities. By intentionally zoning this lounge into the entrance lobby, we have made it a symbol of the apartment complex.
Project Duration
Design period: September 2020 to June 2021 Construction period: February 2023 to July 2024
Operation Flow
With the theme of openness in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the building has one unit per floor, with windows on three sides (excluding the elevators and stairs) to allow wind to pass through, and a spacious 2m-deep balcony to make this area bright and bright. We created a spacious verandah-like exterior space. The interior space has been designed as a flexible room that reflects the modern way of working, including a remote work room, online classes, and large storage space.
Research
Under the theme of "Chemical reaction by adding a community", we have designed various accommodations and housing facilities according to the times, environment and circumstances. With the design of cooperative houses as the main axis, we have built up architecture and space creation with an eye on the target, based on our achievements that capture the ideas of real users.
Inspiration
After going through the coronavirus pandemic, I have been thinking about new communities. Inspired by the zoning of hotel lobby lounges, where people can casually drop by, we set this up as a place to start a community in an apartment complex. Under the soft shade of the symbol tree, we hope that it will be a space with a sense of openness and calm, and that it will function as a lounge where residents can communicate with each other as they pass by, and where guests can socialize.
Image Credits
Copyright belongs to Coplus Co., Ltd.
Patents
Copyright belongs to Coplus Co., Ltd.

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