The Saijo Clinic is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It occupies a surface of 116.56 square meters and it was designed by Aida Atelier. It’s a private mental health clinic with a very complex design. The clinic was completed in 2011 and it sits on the 11th floor, in the penthouse of a tall building in central Tokyo. Originally, this space was part of a huge signboard on the rooftop of the building. It was then extended and turned into a penthouse.
The original sign was an idea that had to be abandoned because of new landscape regulations. However, the space inside it was still usable and was transformed into what is today a clinic. The interior was remodeled and the architects created a complex décor. They tried to reflect in there the diversity of urban scales and the differences between them. The result was a contrasting design that follows a common theme. The clinic includes a series of hut-like structures. This way the interior becomes very inviting and cozy, by borrowing these characteristics from rural houses. It was an ingenious idea that suits perfectly with the clinic’s program.
These huts are very cozy and they are reminiscent of rural home and yet they are found in the middle of a metropolis. They have various forms and scales and the relationship between them is complex. Some are adjacent while others are nested inside one another and some are interlocking structures. This solution was perfect for the complex program of the clinic and it also creates a very comfortable environment, somewhere between daily context and treatment. The interior is intimate and very friendly.