Nakanoshima Mitsui Building is the hub of the Mitsui group in Kansai area. While designing the Mitsui Shinkan plan, the architect was also doing the same for a building in Muromachi, Tokyo. A relationship between these two buildings separated by great distance and the synchrony that comes from their relationship was sought. Nakanoshima is especially blessed with water and greenery among all the locations of Osaka, ‘the city of water’. During the Edo era, lots of Daimyo’s had their storehouses there as the river received a high amount of traffic bringing the wealth to the town. Now, the water flow gives people peace as a wealthy urban environment and the flow of lively people on the street brings a human touch to the space. Utilizing the rare urban environment that has good conditions and developing more appeal are important.

We accentuated the long standing cultural identities of the north and south by actualizing the main thoroughfare that connects the ‘North’, a town of new business, with the ‘South’, an area that has been the centre of commerce and culture since a long time ago. There are plans for the west side of the property to have a super high-rise building built, so we constructed a strong stone wall with small windows rhythmically. The east side of this building has a 14 storey office building close by, so we incorporated large pillars into the design to block the view with each other.