Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

Japanese studio NI&Co. Architects has built a small sound-proofed cabin in Nagoya where its owners can retreat to play the piano.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

Nestled amongst a number of taller buildings in a residential area of the city, Piano House was designed by NI&Co. Architects as a simple structure with a purple brickwork exterior and a timber-lined interior.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

An asymmetric roof angles up into a point above the entrance, creating enough height for a sheltered door with a window above.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

This leads through to a corridor, created by a partition wall that gradually angles further away from the ceiling. This wall folds halfway along, leading through to a space accommodating both a grand piano and an upright piano.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

“The spiral shape wall is extended to the inside, so you can feel the continuity of internal and external space,” said architect and studio co-founder Nina Funahashi.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

The partition is punctured by a large rectangular opening that suggests an informal spectator spot.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

As well as basic plywood panels, the interior walls feature several patches of pegboard that help to improve the internal acoustics of the space.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

“We designed an acoustic layer and sound insulation layer by combining the general-purpose materials, so the soundproof chamber can have acoustic and echo function with a low budget,” said the architect.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music

A cluster of globe-shaped pendant lamps hang from the ceiling, diffusing light through translucent surfaces.

Photography is by Hiroshi Tanigawa.

Here’s a short description from NI&Co. Architects:


Piano House K.448

This house with a spiral shape plan is for playing the piano. The site is 7m width and 15m depth, and surrounding area is a quiet residential quarter. The blanks are created by rotating the house 10 degrees against the site, and it brought the soundproof effect as a buffer zone for surrounding area.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music
Floor plan – click for larger image

The spiral shape wall is extended to the inside, so you can feel the continuity of internal and external space by the wall. We designed an acoustic layer and sound insulation layer by combining the general-purpose materials, so the soundproof chamber can have acoustic and echo function with a low budget.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music
Section – click for larger image

A sound wave can reach ears through air encircled with the spiral shape wall. The spiral shape wall extending to the inside is customisable for adjusting convey of piano’s sound, so the wall can bring about changes in the sound environment. It becomes the space for ‘sonata for two pianos’.

Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music
Elevations – click for larger image

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Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

Garments and accessories are sparingly displayed in a three-dimensional grid of white steel cubes at this boutique in Osaka by NI&Co. Architects.

Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

Named Bianco Nero, which translates as ‘Black White’, the shop has a monochrome colour scheme to complement the selection of clothing on show.

Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

Some of the metal cubes contain glass shelves for hats and bags, while items of clothing hang from the horizontal elements.

Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

Gaps in the grid create frames for larger items, as well as doorways for shoppers to wander through.

Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

The installation is the only shelving within the space, giving it the look of a temporary shop, but designer Nina Funahashi says that she has created “a sustainable and changeable design that can be used for a long period.”

Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

Photography is by Yuko Tada.

The information below is from the designers:


‘Bianco Nero’ in Japan / Architect : NI&Co. Architects

It is an Italian mode boutique in Osaka, Japan.

‘Bianco Nero’ means ‘white and black’ in Italy, and we were required that the shop design suit the monotone clothes selected. We designed the small space in underground shopping center as widely as possible, and the space still keeps the functionality as a shop. The steel grid shelf in the shop has two functions that are to part the big space as if it were divided into some small ones and to bring a moderate distance between salesclerks and customers.

Bianco Nero by NI&Co. Architects

The layer-like shelf that overlaps several times creates a depth feel and a sense of unity to space, and has an effect that tightens the whole space. In addition, the shelf consists of 6 units and it can respond to various shopping space by changing the combination of units.

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NI&Co. Architects
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