The Urawa Garden Building serves as the headquarters for a comprehensive leisure and amusement company, primarily managing pachinko halls. Located in a bustling commercial district near Urawa Station in Saitama Prefecture, just 30 minutes from Tokyo by train, the site is historically significant as it lies along the Nakasendo, a major Edo-period highway. Urawa Station was the third post town from Edo, and the area still retains many long-established businesses from that era. The properties along Nakasendo were highly valuable, leading to the development of narrow, elongated plots and alleyways, which contributed to the creation of vibrant streetscapes with small restaurants after World War II. One such alley, “Nakaginza Seven,” became a lively arcade street and is the site for the Urawa Garden Building.
The design of the building respects the historical context, aiming to recreate the old thoroughfares and the intimate scale of small dining establishments while adapting them for modern use. A central passageway, 70 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 5 meters high, runs through the site, branching off to the east and south, improving pedestrian flow. The adjacent spaces are divided into small alcoves, designed with a human scale in mind.
The building’s facade captures the vibrancy of the former Nakaginza Seven with glass cubes suspended above the passageway, framed by white volumes that are staggered to resemble traditional Japanese streetscapes. The result is a visually striking and modern interpretation of the area’s rich history. The Urawa Garden Building has a total floor area of 11,000 square meters and rises 10 stories high, blending the past and present in a harmonious architectural design.
