Yamba Lake Station Maruiwa

This project is one of the projects aimed at helping the residents of the areas that will be submerged due to the construction of the Yamba Dam to rebuild their lives and find meaning in life. For about six years, we were in charge of the basic plan, schematic design, working drawings, and interior administration for the "regional development facilities" in the "Kawarayu District" and "Yokobe District," as well as consulting work to support the local management company.
For the Yokokabe Regional Development Facility, we not only planned the facility, but also provided support for the launch of an operating body established in the area, attracting new businesses to the area, consulting for restaurants run by residents, developing menus, and overseeing the operation of opening equipment, etc.
concept design of the facility was based on the concept of "inheriting and developing the town's memories," and recreated the former Naganohara Town Hall*, which had fulfilled its role after being built some 90 years ago and was scheduled for demolition, as a symbol of the area. The facility was designed to create an opportunity for the children who will lead the area in the future, and the tourists who visit, to see the town's history, and to ensure that new businesses run here will lead to the regeneration, restoration, and development of the area.

*The old government building, built in 1929, is a two-story wooden structure with a hipped roof. It was said to be the only wooden government building.

[Social Issues/Customer Issues/Requests]
[Business aspect] With the construction of Yamba Dam, it was required to establish a new business that had no experience in this area as a facility for the residents of the submerged area to rebuild their lives and find purpose in life. . In addition, it was requested that the facility be differentiated from facilities planned in other districts and similar facilities, and to have the ability to attract customers and originality.

[concept design] The requests included making some sort of use of the old government building, which is filled with people's memories; making the plan visible from the busy national highway in order to attract visitors, and taking advantage of the view that allows for a distant view of the Yamba Dam directly ahead and a panoramic view of the lake.

【solution】
[Business aspect] What we emphasized in order to realize the request was, firstly, to make proposals for the feasibility of business ideas by local residents, and secondly, to establish a relationship between the Yokokabe district and the Kawarayu district. The third is to strongly support the establishment of a local management parent company to differentiate the district regional promotion facilities.
In this project, we aimed to "open a restaurant" that everyone in the district had no experience with, and promoted it in a way that was close to the characteristics of the region and the business.
In particular, we had repeated dialogues about ``searching for characteristics of the Yokokabe district'' and ``utilization of local recipes,'' and worked together to develop menus and promote plans that are closely related to the region.
We invited a professional chef for the trial production and tasting event, and supported the local revitalization by raising the awareness of the people in the area, improving the cooking technique, and strengthening the self-reliance.

[concept design] When converting the function of the town hall into a lake station, we surveyed the existing building and decided to recreate it in a modern, updated way while still maintaining the nostalgia of the former town hall. The retro, distinctive design of the old building has been reproduced to create a visual appeal. In addition, by creating an open opening facing the Yamba Dam, the location offers one of the best views of the facilities around the dam lake.
Additionally, in order to maintain the style of the old government building while complying with current regulations, careful consideration was given to the structural design.

<Our project members> 
[Sales/Project Management] Satoshi Arai, Hitomi Yamamoto
[Planning and Consulting] Kenichi Sakazume, Yuki Shimokuni
[design, layout] NAU: Sakae Kirioka, Nana Osano