TORAFU ARCHITECTS

Waku Waku Station is an information booth sponsored by Mitsui Real Estate Residential that is at the center of the “Waku Waku Water Front” campaign to rediscover the charms of Tokyo’s waterfront held from October 2012 to March 2013 at the Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu.

The booth is made to function both as an information desk to allow visitors to naturally come in contact with event and property information from Mitsui Real Estate Residential and as a reception desk for treasure hunting events during which visitors can spend time leisurely strolling the bay area and gaining a deeper insight. The booth is like a big playground equipment where families can have a fun time together or like an exciting secret base at the starting point of a treasure hunt.

We proposed creating a booth from separate pieces by assembling giant building blocks into walls and a counter. The design takes inspiration from the yachts, boats, houses and buildings found in the bay scenery. Some surfaces can be used as sign boards or come down easily to become a table or a bench, and like building blocks, they can support themselves by lying on one another.

By resizing building blocks which anyone can easily imagine, the booth itself becomes a poster for events, thereby producing an extraordinary sight in the middle of the shopping mall.