There are many architectural terms with similar meanings but different nuances. The term "renovation" suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding.It may also suggest innovation, improvement or recovery. "Renewal" implies a restoration of what had become disintegrated so that it seems like new."Reform" suggests an improving by making corrective changes while "repair" means to restore by replacing parts or putting together what is disassembled or broken. "Remodel" is an act of altering the structure. To "convert" means to change from one function or form to another...

Preface:Kazuya URA

Staff

Chapter 1 Hotels

Chapter 2 Offices

Chapter 3 Hospitals

Chapter 4 Commercial Facilities

Chapter 5 Private Club Facilities

Chapter 6 Public Facilities

There are many architectural terms with similar meanings but different nuances. The term "renovation" suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding.It may also suggest innovation, improvement or recovery. "Renewal" implies a restoration of what had become disintegrated so that it seems like new."Reform" suggests an improving by making corrective changes while "repair" means to restore by replacing parts or putting together what is disassembled or broken. "Remodel" is an act of altering the structure. To "convert" means to change from one function or form to another.

Each of them cannot perfectly describe an act of renovating or refurbishing the interior without major changes to the original construction, framework, or skeleton. In this book, however, we will consider any such act of restoring spaces as a renovation, regardless of its scale, and an act of drastically altering the form or function of the building as a conversion.

Why are these methods that have become common and even customary now drawing attention?There are many possible causes. Perhaps we are in the process of transition from an age of "scrap-and build"to an age of ecology and sustainability, where limited energy is used and reused in a sustainable manner,and our values are thus shifting toward conservation and maintenance; or, the value of structural skeletons as social capital has improved enough to justify renovative approaches; or, investments in buildings that previously enabled new building construction are now simply applied to IT-related projects.

Japan has an excellent approach toward conservation and maintenance of technology, symbolized by the act of rededicating a shrine every 20 years at the Ise Shrine. The cycle of 20 years is very effective in terms of wood growth, men’s longevity, and succession of technology. This is an excellent system because wood materials that become available by disintegrating old buildings can be recycled for other uses. There has been, however, widespread misunderstanding that this represents a simple scrap-and-build method, and this way of thinking probably resulted in Japan’s late start in renovations. We must admit that rebuilding or reconstruction was once a sustainable method in the hot, moist climate and environment with many earthquakes and typhoons. However, it must also be noted that, at the time, nature was rich enough to sustain this method, and the Japanese social structure could afford it. In China, they established technologies to build stone constructions that could last for thousands of years by using limited natural resources and materials,while in the world of sand and soil, even huge structures were built using adobe. In Europe, where wood resources were almost used up during the Middle Ages, they chose stone and brick to build shelters and castle walls that could withstand attacks by neighbors or other tribes rather than weather.

Japanese buildings traditionally had skeleton constructions composed of columns and beams without walls. They were thatched with straw, and separated from the outside by fittings. Thus, unlike the West,there was no background for the concept of the enclosed interior to be produced in Japan. Fittings and partitions were, like tatami mats, dispensable components with short lifecycles, and there was even a customary system to re-thatch roofs by all the members of rural villages. This well-balanced and continuous cycle of construction was broken by the sudden onset of modernization. As destruction and disordered development have prevailed globally, the CO2 issue has occurred. Now that related environmental issues cannot be resolved through a simple classification of developed and underdeveloped countries, not to mention the Kyoto Protocol, a common challenge is how to approach sustainability through recycling and reuse,and the true purpose of renovations are now strongly questioned.

How the interior should be, as part of infills doesn’t mean the lavish decoration of the interior. Instead,it should be a set of ever-changing furnishings that turn space into something easy to live in and use, in accordance with the changes of the occupant’s lifestyle. In other words, it means the creation of artificial things that can naturally fit our daily lives, and are appropriate for enabling us to maintain our identity as part of nature. I believe that the renovation in question means a method to plan the above-described type of interior,and to respond to continuous changes while maintaining compatibility with designs of shelters or frame works that require longer lives.

This requirement further enhances the value of space through renovation, and the approach for this goal lies in planning based on an ideal combination of design and management. The values of architectural spaces are not permanent, but are ever-changing depending on social needs. Infills are replaced in order to realize values required by the society. In addition,values after replacements should be much better than those of the originals. The true worth of the renovation is a creation of spatial values that cannot be obtained from newly built constructions. Spaces with history are beautiful. This is why a hotel renovated on the basis of reflection and consideration is more comfortable than a newly constructed hotel.

This book features a collection of completed renovations that serve as examples of effective and useful approaches to interior design for non-residential buildings in the year 2005. Please note that the book covers only a few examples, and that excellent and optimal designs are currently being created every day.

August 2005