N Building façade
Naoki Terada (Japanese, born 1967)
and Kenichi Hirate (Japanese, born 1980)
of Terada Design Architects (Japan,
est. 2003)
Alexander Reeder (American, born 1978),
Nao Tokui (Japanese, born 1976),
and Taeji Sawai (Japanese, born 1978)
of Qosmo, Inc. (Japan, est. 2009)
Izumi Okayasu (Japanese, born 1972)
of Izumi Okayasu Lighting Design
(Japan, est. 2005)
2009
Aluminum, double-glass panels, ceramic
print, LEDs, and Vectorworks, Barcode
Robo, Xcode, and Logic Pro software
The N Building, located in a shopping
district near Tokyo's Tachikawa station,
has a uniquely interactive facade.
Instead of the signs and billboards
that are usually attached to commercial
buildings, a large QR code forms the
N Building’s skin. The QR code takes
passersby to relevant online information
about the building, including notices and
updates from its retailers and tweets
from shoppers. This virtual yet tangible
interaction between building and person
is a novel, enhanced experience of
the physical, in which, as the designers
say, “the facade of the building
disappears, showing those inside
who want to be seen.”
Category: City
Tags: Liminal Spaces / Interfaces / Communications
