KBDA
Project#:	1998-074
Recognition:	Honorable Mention
Name:	Organic Building
Location:	Osaka, Japan
Completed:	1993
Firm:	Pesce, Ltd.
Architect:	Pesce, Gaetano
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION:
The Organic Building occupies a corner site in the heart of Osaka’s downtown corridor. With 7052 square meters of interior space on nine stories, it houses restaurant and retail tenants on the street and second floor levels, and offices above. This tower was conceived to accommodate commercial functions while simultaneously creating a meaningful symbol for the future growth and vitality of Japan’s second largest city. Design was initially inspired by the concept of the garden as a metaphor for the variety, dynamism and potential of urban community. Because property in Osaka is densely packed and extraordinarily expensive, addition of a free-standing garden to the client’s existing program was impossible. Thus the Organic Building was designed to be a vertical garden in itself, achieving an architectural ideal suggested on paper for epochs but never before effectively accomplished. Facades of the Organic Building take their conceptual cue from bamboo, Japan’s most identifying garden element. Certain properties of bamboo - its distinctive verticality, undulating surface, and tendency to grow into a network of interlocking but nonetheless unique spaces -- inspired the building’s "wavy" skin and an arrangement of different windows that permits individualized spatial experiences from inside the tower. In high contrast to the uniformly gray neighborhood, facades are steel-encased concrete panels glazed with a red finish that feature extruding pockets. Lined with fiberglass planters, these pockets contain more than 80 types of indigenous plants and trees selected in collaboration with Osaka horticulturists. The result is an abundant, visually stunning vertical garden concealing a complex, computer-controlled hydrating system of mechanical pipes that continuously nourishes and sustains the plants. The Organic Building was completed in 1993. In 1994 the project was declared a civic landmark by the City of Osaka, which has undertaken its maintenance in perpetuity.
USER ASSESSMENT:	Hiroshi Yamamoto Oguraya-Yamamoto Co., Ltd.
Oguraya-Yamamoto Co., Ltd. Is a company founded 140 years ago. Our company originated by selling the tang boiled down in soy sauce. Today, we have expanded our company into real-estate development also. The company and our tang is very famous among citizens as part of the life and history of Osaka. Therefore, the Organic Building is a benefit for Oguraya-Yamamoto Co., Ltd., for we are associated with the enigmatic, brilliant architecture that is now also an important part of life in the city. Oguraya-Yamamoto Co., Ltd. began in the Organic Building in 1993 when construction finished. We observe that the building is a success in every aspect. The garden on the street walls is growing very strong and is more magical every year. The image of the Organic Building attracts citizens and tourists for shopping (shops here sell bread, a coffee shop, flowers, clothes, bags, etc.) And people recognize improvement in the atmosphere. Space in the building was made for a open plan. All companies here use this space in a different was for individual expression. We believe the Organic Building helps workers here and the people of Osaka think about the future.
JURY COMMENTS:
With the metaphoric reference of a bamboo shaft as a vertical garden, the architect has created a pleasant refuge for the residents of this building located in a highly dense urban area of Tokyo.