Takeuchi Clinic

Futtsu-city, Chiba, Japan

Photo © Ryota Atarashi

Clinics

Architects: SPATIAL DESIGN STUDIO / Satoko Shinohara

Location: Futtsu-city, Chiba, Japan
Year: 2010

Clinics are now one of the few architectural structures that are closely connected to the community. In a sense, they are more open than elementary or junior high schools, which are also community facilities. Anyone can enter the clinic during opening hours, and people of all ages and genders are welcome. Therefore, it must be easily accessible and clearly structured, no matter who comes by.

Small, calm spaces such as a small tatami room where one can lie down a little, a kids' corner, a nursing room, and an infusion room are inserted into the small rectangle inserted into the large single-flow volume, creating a space with the scale of a house, different from the waiting room and corridor with its 5.6-meter-high ceiling. The facade also has a tall structure on the main street, giving it an open appearance as a clinic, while the narrow street side, where residences are nearby, has a low eave height, creating a scale that is in tune with the surrounding houses. Even though the building is newer and larger in area, the Takeuchi Clinic aims to be both open and residential in order to remain a part of the local community's living space.