Urban temple

The project, set up as close as possible to the mad movement of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. It develops itself as a break time, in contrast to the surrounding shops and the visual pollution; symbols of overconsumption. It becomes an urban temple, where the body and mind can be back again as focus of attention.

The project is a cultural, sports and well-being center in contrast to the adjoining programs more oriented towards work and overconsumption. It takes root closest to the East exit of Shinjuku station. The intention is to settle in a saturated public space in order to develop it vertically. Public spaces overlap and then become lookouts over the city and its movement. Here, we are talking about taking distance with a context considered unhealthy while settling there in its very center. This approach turns out to be complicated and requires a radical architecture to mark the barrier between these two juxtaposed worlds. The urban figure is the basis of the process. An architecture of interiority and an oriented one are implemented by the project's structural assemblies. Next comes materiality, which plays a very important role. With a metaphorical vision, concrete is seen as poured stone. It refers to the symbolism of the telluric. The project raises as a homogeneous monolith by the material in contrast with the mechanical world around it.\nThe program developed there focuses on body and mind. The programming typology is very important in the project. It draws a path where spiritual, intellectual and physical development are taken into account. There are sento baths; important social activity in Japan; a temporary exhibition museum; focused on meditative works; then dojos; where we practice martial arts; ancestral japanese philosophy. These three programs are accompanied by public spaces which are organized vertically like belvedere on the urban landscape of the city. By entering this temple, the user passes from the status of actor to the status of spectator. This contemplative retreat aims to educate the visitor about the urban machine of Tokyo. All its ills are staged: density, over-attendance, visual pollution and over-consumption. These spatial experiences are therefore spaces for contemplation and awareness.\nThey make up a very archaic urban temple in a metallic world. The symbolism of the telluric takes on its full meaning, the project emerges from the ground as a necessary escape from the city.