Tuesday November 24th
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Ireland House, Tokyo – Competition
Arigho Larmour Wheeler Architects, in collaboration with Ostick and Williams Architects, were awarded Second Place in the RIAI International Competition for the design of Ireland House, Tokyo, Japan, with the support of ARUP, Yamamoto Hori Architects, Tokyo and Currie and Brown, Tokyo.
“Comprising three distinctive yet intertwined entities; the Irish Embassy in Japan, the Ambassador’s Residence and State Agencies, our proposal sought to capture the spirit of Ireland’s heritage and culture whilst celebrating aspects of shared cultural confluence.
Drawing together an international design team with which to collaborate, we found common ground in the design for a building which would represent Ireland in Japan, expressing what we saw as confluences in ideas about landscape, light, connectivity, and cultural narrative inspired by the simple organisation of a Georgian Townhouse on a square.
Our proposal transposes the inherent logic and qualities of the Irish Georgian Town House to this special site in Tokyo, seeking a strong sense of visual connection between people within Ireland House to the landscape of the city and to new pockets of landscape and light within the Embassy.
A simple and elegant organisation of social, and private spaces informs not only the urban proposition but also the interior life of the building.”
Arigho Larmour Wheeler Architects are Mark Arigho, Jane Larmour & Patrick Wheeler
Instagram @alwarchitects
https://www.alwarchitects.com/irelandhousetokyojapan/
Part of the AAI Lightning Lectures ‘Unbuilt’ Series
https://architecturalassociation.ie/lightning-lectures-unbuilt/