2026 Graduation Project 'Structural Afterimage' by Honoka Kimura — IDREIT®

This design is an attempt to neutralize the materiality of architecture and create a seamless blending of erratic flows for people gathering from Shibuya, Yoyogi-Hachiman, and the Kamiyamacho residential area.

The countless vertical louvers, which serve as both the exterior facade and the structural framework, leverage the narrow depth of the site to induce a moiré effect. By conceptually and visually dissolving the contours of walls and columns, the architectural form is instead constructed by the figures of people constantly moving up and down the ramps.

It is an architecture where only the traces of drifting people accumulate in layers—a constantly shifting, fluctuating complex. The project becomes a sanctuary where the everyday life of Kamiyamacho is rediscovered through the beautiful, walking silhouettes of each individual.

On this plot, situated at the nexus of Shibuya, Yoyogi-Hachiman, and the Kamiyamacho residential area, a vast number of people, cars, and bicycles intersect. Recognizing the need for a place where residents from these three distinct districts could mingle naturally, the space is envisioned as a "split-crosswalk" arrangement inspired by group maneuvers—allowing people approaching from three directions to blend together without colliding, while maintaining their respective trajectories.

Derived from the concept of frame-by-frame animation—a method of making the static appear in motion—the countless louvers alter the afterimages they produce based on their curvature, density, and the movement speed of individuals, whether walking or running. As a means to provoke human movement, a spiral ramp loops throughout the entire building. The motion of people on this ramp is transmitted to the frames, causing the architecture to morph and further weakening its physical presence.

As a commercial space, the facility accommodates a running station with Yoyogi Park as its backdrop, a training gym, and a group fitness studio, alongside three weekly rental housing units. Through two separate ramp circulations tailored to commercial and residential purposes, the two programs coexist in an ambiguous yet beautiful harmony.