This project involved the renewal of a very small area—just 5.5 square meters—at the entrance of a tenant space. As part of the transition from a dance studio to a training gym, only the minimal necessary design interventions were made.
The tenant is located in a zone dedicated to beauty and wellness within a major commercial complex in central Tokyo, where multiple tenants line a shared corridor finished in white. This shared corridor functions as an external space in architectural terms: it acts as a public street, and its wall as the facade. Due to the need for visual harmony among tenants, modifications to the wall facing the corridor are restricted. As a result, the only means of expressing the tenant’s identity externally is through the interior space visible through the opening.
To capture the attention of people passing through the corridor, the floor, walls, and ceiling of the interior were finished entirely in black, creating a stark contrast with the white corridor. Additionally, a white reception counter was designed to appear as if it floats above the black floor, introducing a second layer of contrast and reinforcing the visual impact.
Just as architecture defines the relationship between interior and exterior, this interior design attempts to articulate the boundary and interaction between the tenant’s private space and the shared public space through spatial contrast and minimal gestures.