Mole by Ninkipen!

Japanese office Ninkipen have completed this office in Osaka with a facade of aluminum louvres that appear to bubble.

The office was designed for a cosmetic company and inspired by the bubbles found in gelled ointment.

The louvres are made from 2.5 milimetre profiled aluminium.

The offices have an exposed concrete interior with a central staircase.

All photographs are by Hiroki Kawata.

Here’s some more from the architects:

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Mole by Ninkipen!

This is a small office for a cosmetic company Osaka,Japan.

I thought that I was going to express the image of geled cosmetics that is staple merchandise of the company on the facade.

Treating the motif of bobble contained in gel directly, I abstracted it and I tried to merge it in scenery in change it according to the angle.

The louver is made of the 2.5mm aluminum.

First of all, the plate with the different curvature is bent like the L angle, next, the angle is arranged in order of the curvature, then, emboss comes to the surface from among the louver.

I assumed that emboss was a bobble, and I laid it out rhythmically imaging going up in water.

The facade shines like the lantern at night by the light that leaks between louvers, and this architecture begins to become a landmark in the residential area.

Project name: mole
Architect: YASUO IMAZU/ninkipen! Architect office
Use: office
Location: Osaka, Japan
Scale: 197.19㎡