Sapporo, HOKKAIDO

JPEN

OWNER’S VOICEA client’s voice

“A first-rate proposal for an
environment offering
the unique
warmth and healing properties
of wood at low cost”

Reason for the decision to construct the dormitory

The Hokkaido Gas Baseball Team was formed in April 2018. At the preparation stage, the company looked for a rental property where the entire team could live together in order to permit management of their daily lives and strengthen their feeling of team unity. But unable to house all members in a single building, it arranged for them to live in scattered private sector bachelor dormitories. This caused problems with their diet and other daily life issues and interfered with their travel to and from the team’s training site. It was also expensive to have them live in private sector facilities. As a result of a study from a long-term perspective, Hokkaido Gas decided to build a dormitory on a company-owned site adjoining the team’s indoor training facility.

The building: concerns and concepts

Its private rooms allow every occupant to live as a full member of society, its dining room provides the nourishment each player needs to stay in good physical condition, and a bath where they can practice self-care.
Common areas include a lounge on every floor, consultation rooms, and other spaces intended to emphasize communication. Its aim is to provide stylish and relaxing spaces while retaining generally simple amenities to avoid a level of luxury unsuitable for a company-owned facility.

Satisfaction

Completed and delivered at the end of October 2019, 20 of its 26 rooms are now occupied by members of the baseball team. Here they recover from the fatigue caused by their work and practice, not only in its large private rooms, but in its complete range of common spaces such as its dining room, bathing area, lobby, and so on. In particular, the bath is not only the place where they care for themselves, but an important place for communication between the team members, who report that they are extremely satisfied with the building.

Why did Tsuchiya Home receive this order?

In February 2019, four companies including Tsuchiya Home submitted competitive designs. Among the proposals which were all attractive, the large wooden building presented by Tsuchiya Home was by far the best choice: a building that provides the warmth and healing power of wood and broad spaces and a floor plan to take the maximum advantage of its building site and that could be inexpensively constructed.
Hokkaido Gas ordered the building proposed by Tsuchiya Home because this building most accurately met its requirements, but in addition, Tsuchiya Home is also active in corporate sports through its ski club, so Hokkaido Gas considered to be a dependable company.

Sales

Tsuchiya Home informed them of the merits and demerits of wooden dwellings, emphasizing the ways it would benefit the players. The Safety Engineering Construction Method permits the construction of large wooden residential buildings and I am confident that the unique healing properties of wood will energize the players.

Technical and site supervision

During the short work period, the work advanced accompanied by regular weekly meetings of the customer and Tsuchiya Home held to discuss the work and confirm its future course, permitting them to work together as a team until Tsuchiya confidently delivered the completed building.

The Design

From the presentation stage, I supervised the design work. I have not forgotten the excitement and pressure I experienced when Tsuchiya Home was selected as the winner of the competition. At the regular meetings held weekly during the design and execution stages, I considered the customer’s desires and worked with the members of the baseball team who would actually live in the building uppermost in my mind. Managers of Hokkaido Gas in charge of the project closely oversaw my work and confidently allowed me to complete the work. Then I finally handed over the building in October 2019 without any problems. This project helped me grow a lot as a planner and designer.