Location: Hamuro, Japan

Year: 1993-1996

Sunstar Health Center Plaza, located on the much more extensive Sunstar Corporation campus, sets out to solve two problems related to the old building complex: firstly, to physically and architecturally integrate two stylistically independent buildings, the Management Training Center & Medical Center, built on a rocky plot of land hardly ever exposed to the sun; and, secondly, to functionally combine the buildings on a more effective basis and incorporate the extra services housed in the new building. The new Health Training Center is the focal point of the entire complex, thanks to its blend of internal functionality, site formation, and structural layout. Great attention has been paid to detail, emphasising the contrast between the few solid sections characterising the facades and the various glass surfaces: the weight of the design, which might stylistically be compared to a sort of inhabited bridge, gradually lightens as we move in towards the garden, literally vanishing into the transparent curve marking the swimming pool and training room area.
The gently sloping roof is made of pre-oxidised copper and contrasts nicely with the sand coloured plaster and other claddings, fitting in smoothly with the surrounding landscape.