#PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS
Bleu Blanc
Bleu Blanc, a wedding hall in the city of Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, was designed by Suppose Design Office
With architecture as its base, Suppose Design has continued to offer new ways of thinking, designing, and forming relationships since it opened in 2000.
We asked the firm’s founder, Tanijiri Makoto, to tell us about the project.Tell us about the basic concept for this project.
A wedding hall is a place for couples to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We focused on designing a place that would provide lasting memories of that experience. The waiting area is like a village where people can meet and chat; the chapel, wrapped in soft fabric, is a place for magical experiences; the banquet hall offers a place where guests and hosts can spend time together in a natural setting. Although all of these spaces are contained within one building, we altered the mood of each in order to create lasting memories that newly married couples would be able to take home after the wedding.
How did you end up taking on the project?
The client contacted us after seeing a magazine write-up of a similar project we’d done in Hiroshima. After visiting the actual building, the client commissioned us to do the project.
Did the structure that was actually built differ in any way from your design? Tell us how you solved any problems that arose.
The actual building turned out better than what we had designed.
As for challenges, the site was sloped and the construction timeline extremely short. We included construction recommendations in our plans, and by doing so were able to transform those problems into attractive elements of the building.
How is this project similar to or different from past projects?
I have addressed the relationship between exterior and interior in a number of past projects, but I think the theme is expressed even more prominently here. Parts of the interior feel like they are outside, and the space is simple yet diverse. These contradictions, or rather the concepts that exist between the two contradictory elements, create a sense that something is out of place, but in a good way. I believe this sense of strangeness can actually make a space richer or more comfortable. No matter what the specific project, this is a concept I continue to explore.
What’s do you pay attention to or value most when you design something?
My goal is to constantly create new kinds of architecture. Today’s standards exist because of past innovations. By continuously imagining new kinds of structures, I hope to create an architectural philosophy that will last into the future.
How does this project fit into current architectural trends?
I don’t know much about architectural trends, but I very much want our firm to be one that has the ability to shape those trends.
