Silver Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2025
Frames Office
- A' Design Award 2025 Silver Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Metaph Architect Associates
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 18,318
- Verification code 69C521A095 · Verify this award
About Frames Office
Frames is an office building located in Osaka, Japan. The facade is defined by overlapping window frames that appear to float above a horizontal eave at ground level. Bright and open work spaces are placed mainly above the second floor. The window shapes and carefully placed trees soften the view from the street, keeping a balance between privacy and openness. The building uses a wooden rigid frame structure with large section laminated timber and metal joints. Structural analysis was carried out to ensure safety in a region with frequent earthquakes and to support low carbon construction.
Frames Office by Michihiro Matsuo represents a distinguished contribution to contemporary commercial architecture, embodying principles of transparency, horizontality, and refined material expression that have characterized progressive workplace design in recent decades. The building's formal strategy privileges the horizontal datum, with continuous bands of floor-to-ceiling glazing creating visual continuity across each level while articulating the tripartite vertical organization through expressed floor plates rendered in luminous white. This approach suggests engagement with modernist precedents while achieving a distinctly contemporary sensibility through the careful calibration of solid-to-void ratios and the subtle projection of the uppermost volume beyond the primary facade plane. The technical accomplishment evident in the seamless integration of extensive glass curtain wall systems with the sculptural white volumes demonstrates sophisticated understanding of both structural expression and environmental mediation. The landscaped forecourt, populated with carefully composed plantings including both deciduous specimens captured in their winter dormancy and persistent evergreens, establishes a transitional zone that mediates between public streetscape and private corporate realm. One might observe how the architect has achieved a delicate balance between institutional presence and environmental responsiveness, the reflective glazing surfaces creating dynamic visual effects that change with atmospheric conditions while the white masses provide stable geometric anchoring. The design appears to explore themes of workplace transparency, the relationship between collective enterprise and individual visibility, and the potential for commercial architecture to contribute positively to its urban context. Viewers might contemplate how such architectural interventions shape daily experiences of work and community, considering the role of natural light, visual connection, and landscape integration in creating environments that support human flourishing.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The building aims for an open, organic look with window frames on the façade. The overlapping, almost floating frame design catches the eye. Inside, the view from employees and pedestrians is separated, with bright, open office spaces and strategically planted greenery softly blocking the view, maintaining a balance between privacy and openness. Horizontal eaves at ground level contrast with the windows above to create a sleek façade that blends in with the surrounding landscape.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Site area 1,037.12 m2, Scale 768.80 m2, Structure Wood, Number of floors 3, This building is often planned to be made of steel to match its shape, but in consideration of low carbonization, it is planned to be maed to be made of wooden rigid frame construction. arge openings.
- Tags
- Office, Wood, Architecture, Nature, Window
- Production Technology
- This building is an environmentally friendly wooden structure. Because it has a large open space, there were concerns about the strength of the building. In order to build it safely, a structural analysis was carried out and large-section laminated timber and metal joints were used to achieve a strong and safe structure. In Japan, where earthquakes are frequent, structural calculations are extremely important for wooden buildings, and the utmost consideration was given to this.
- Design Challenge
- In the Japanese construction industry, many buildings are currently constructed using non-wooden materials, and this study aims to achieve both low carbon emissions through wooden architecture and open space design. In particular, in Japan, where earthquakes are frequent, the realization of large-scale wooden architecture is a major challenge in terms of achieving both structural safety and freedom of design.
- Project Duration
- The project was completed in Osaka, Japan in December 2024
- Operation Flow
- Most of the work is carried out in the space above the second floor. The shape of the window frames and the strategically placed trees on the outside block the view of passersby, and other careful considerations have been made to ensure privacy and create a work space.
- Research
- This study examines design methods aimed at achieving both safety and comfort in office buildings with large windows, and harmonizing with the local environment. Through questionnaire surveys and tours, we aim to investigate the psychological impact of organic architectural designs that give a sense of connection with nature, and to propose the ideal form of next-generation office architectural design.
- Inspiration
- The starting point was an organic office design that blends in with nature and the local area. The design emphasized windows that connect with nature and harmony with the exterior space, aiming to create an office that is open, nature-oriented, and blends in with the local area. By harmonizing with the surroundings with natural light and plants and prioritizing employee comfort, we have created a new office space that is open to the local area and gives a sense of nature.
- Image Credits
- Michihiro Matsuo,Metaph Architect Associates
- Patents
- Copyrights
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