The Fussa City Hall, by Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, stands 40 kilometers away from Tokyo and was brought to completion in 2008. The project features two symmetrically designed towers clad in tiles, rising elegantly from a sweeping expanse of grass that blankets the entire site. This green carpet integrates the structure with its natural surroundings and transforms the area into a vibrant public recreational space amidst a sprawling office complex. Yamamoto’s design fosters community engagement and interaction, blending functionality with aesthetic appeal in a modern urban setting.
Fussa City Hall Technical Information
- Architects: Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop
- Location: Fussa, Japan
- Topics: Continuity, Tiles, Topography
- Site area: 4.757 m2
- Floor area: 10.228 m2
- Completion: 2008
- Photographs: © Courtesy of Riken Yamamoto
The skin of the towers transfers into the landscape.
– Beda Faessler, partner of Riken Yamamoto
Fussa City Hall Photographs
The Twin Towers of Fussa City Hall
The Fussa City Hall is located about 50 km from Tokyo city center in a dense residential area. The landscape conforms to the local topography: low hills stepping up from the banks of the Tama River.
The lower levels of the city hall, called “Forum,” are open to the public and used by the citizens. They are placed under an undulated organic roof, where two twin towers rise. The roof is a green public space for citizens’ daily citizens and a place for various events and activities. The greenery on the roof makes the building more energy-efficient, reducing energy losses and helping to integrate it into the surrounding environment.
The two towers containing the main offices give the city hall a solid iconic image. To provide the offices with the maximum space quality, the main idea is to place the structure of the building on the exterior façade, avoiding structural elements in the working space. The pillars and beams of the outer skin structure become thinner on the upper parts of the tower, helping the building to look light and soft towards the sky.
The slab and outer skin structure use factory-made, pre-cast concrete. Pre-cast concrete is a high-performance material, it is earthquake resistant and suits the speedy constructions. Using this construction system, the government offices and assembly functions needed in the city hall have no limitations, and the distribution of the interior is free and flexible according to the users’ preferences.
About Riken Yamamoto
About Riken Yamamoto
Riken Yamamoto was born in 1945 in Beijing, China, and is a Japanese architect. He completed his bachelor’s degree in 1967 and his master’s degree at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 1971, after which he continued his studies at the University of Tokyo. He founded the Yamamoto & Field Shop Co. Ltd in 1973. Some of his most representative works are the Yamakawa Villa (1977) the Rotunda Building in Yokohama (1981); the Hamlet Building in Tokio (Shibuya-Ku, 1988), or the apartment blocks Ryukoentoshi in Yokohama (1992). Riken Yamamoto has won The Japan Institute of Architects Award for the Yokosuka Museum of Art (2010), the Building Contractors Society Prize for the Namics Techno Core (2010), the Building Contractors Society Prize for the Yokosuka Museum of Art (2008) or the 25th Fukushima Architecture Culture Award for the SUS Fukushima Factory (2007).
Additional Notes
- Structure: RC+PCa+SRC
