Kentaro Imai Architectural office
TOGOSHIGINZA-ONSEN
The Togoshi Ginza Onsen is located in the middle of a famous shopping street extending over 1KM. It is a shopping street from old times that has survived into a present age, mingling aspects of the old and the new. A public bath resembles a traditional shopping street in the sense that “the city function is constantly updated, while retaining some nostalgia”. I imaged that If I could join together the aerial feeling of this big shopping street with the design of Sento, that would be compelling. Therefore I fused the modern space and the classic public bath into my design concept “Old meets new”. For example, the painted picture was positioned on the opposite wall of what is usually seen at a classic Sento. Additionally, we commissioned the painting with the collaboration between a traditional illustrator and a modern street artist. Other various “old/new” elements of the Sento featured similar contrasting expressions in the space.
