1. amoca's Vision
The Local Venture Incubation Center amoca (amoca) is a base of activity for promoting the creation and growth of local ventures in Nishiwakura Village. It is not a "closed base" for specific companies or limited users, but it is also not a "large open base" with frequent comings and goings by the unspecified number of people. Therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to assume that, under some kind of norm, the occupants would maintain their individualistic, free and flat relationships with each other within the space that extends into the building. In other words, by creating an architecture that includes a kind of urban environment, we aim to create a new landscape in Nishiwakura Village, where the history of sustainability and the future will be continuous.

2.Discrete and Collective Architecture
Amoca's spatial configuration consists of square and rectangular shaped planar tenants arranged discretely, connected to each other by halls. The building provides an independent environment for the tenants to immerse themselves in their activities, while the spaces are integrated through the halls that serve as empty spaces in the irregular shape. Rather than a space with a limited function that connects the tenants, we thought it would be more appropriate to create a space that is not limited in its use. By contrasting the size of the space and its outlook, we attempted to create a shared space where the tenants can spend their time freely, and where they can use the space for meetings, breaks, workshops, and various other autonomous purposes. Each tenant has openings that are open to the outside, allowing them to enjoy nature while taking in the ever-changing scenery. For administrative and security reasons, the boundary between the tenants and the hall is made of hollow polycarbonate sheets to make the walls permeable. In this way, the space flows gradient with the hall as an integral part of the building, creating an architecture that is both discrete and collective, which is a contradiction in terms. Depending on the season and the climate, the interior and exterior fixtures are expected to remain wide open at all times, allowing the tenants' activities to overflow into the hall and the exterior space, thus amplifying the effect.

3. architecture with an opening for the user
For amoca, we thought that by allowing the architectural space itself to be changed by the users, we could create an architecture that includes the concept of time, rather than a mere formality. Specifically, there are no load-bearing walls facing the interior and exterior of each tenant, and the tenants can freely create new openings or close them with walls as they use them according to their intentions, requests, and circumstances. Large openings are also made in the hall so that the tenants and the hall can be used in an integrated relationship. In addition, the hall can be finished with a wood finish, which can be adapted to the use of the space as it becomes apparent over time. 　This was not only made possible by the design of the building. The structural design of the building also takes into account the lack of wall space in a certain direction in the rectangular portal volume of each tenant, but by integrating the roof surface with the roof, the amount and balance of wall space in the building as a whole can be fulfilled. By using the 3D structural analysis program (MidasiGen) for modeling and stress analysis, we were able to achieve large openings without the need for load-bearing walls on the outside and inside of the tenants. It is difficult to create such a sense of openness in conventional wooden buildings, and this is an advanced approach to wooden structures. Furthermore, even though the shape of the building is seemingly complex and flat, it is made up of a simple axial structure that can be constructed using conventional construction methods without the need for special techniques or methods of construction. The seamless architecture that is created when only people with special knowledge or a special design philosophy are involved in architecture is aesthetically pleasing and perfect as an object of appreciation, but in some cases it may lead to a sense of exclusivity for the user. As an architecture for a local venture incubation center, it may not be appropriate. We believe that amoca can evoke a sense of serendipity and foster an atmosphere of active involvement in architectural spaces and an atmosphere of long-term, respectful use of architecture. In a capitalist society, most buildings are constructed based on the logic of their creators in terms of economy, construction, efficiency, and conventional practices and conventions. Rather than anticipating and prescribing human behavior, amoca aims to create an architecture that actively embraces the uncertain phenomena generated by human behavior.

4. amoca's New Landscape
As of 2019, more than 50 years have already passed since the full implementation of the 1966 metric system; since 1951, when the abolition of the Weights and Measures Act led to the transition from the Shaku Kanpo to the metric system, there has been an attempt to move away from the Shaku Kanpo and adopt the metric system. However, the shaku-ken method is still widely used in Japan today, especially for wooden houses. It is not uncommon, or perhaps even common, for materials such as tatami mats and fusuma to be drawn in the metric system as an open system, and for plans to be drawn in the metric system but based on the shaku-kan method. It can be said that this is because of the familiarity of the shaku-kan method, a system of dimensions that is deeply rooted in the Japanese people's physical characteristics, although efficiency and economy are probably the main parameters. Therefore, in this project, I adopted a 910mm pitch based on the Shaku-kan method as a general rule for the floor plan, because I believe that it works on the body's senses and brings us closer to the comfort and richness of the space. 　In the 1990s, a number of architectural and urban concepts based on the programmatic approach were born, and at the beginning of the 2000s, buildings that used nature as a metaphor, such as clouds and forests, became popular. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, community design has been in the spotlight. Amoca is essentially an extension of this architecture, and considers things that occur beyond the architect's intentions in a positive light. At the same time, however, I believe that, as an "architecture as an object," it is possible to create a situation in which various events can be freely generated without abandoning the act of design by thoroughly interspersing mechanisms at the design stage. 　Amoca does not have a solid architectural outline, an easily recognizable façade, or an architectural face. This means that all of its exterior surfaces are faces. I believe this allows visitors to encounter amoca's architecture in a sequence that seamlessly connects the village and its architecture as a connected experience. Once inside the building, the decentralized arrangement of tenants does not deliberately create a hierarchy of locations, and the myriad correspondences between spatial functions and spaces behind the continuity of action demonstrate the potential of the human being as an animal, creating a variety of uses and rich ways of living. They will be connected. It is hoped that the combination of the architect's contraptions and the user's variations in space will nurture amoca's originality and over time will become part of the landscape and a backdrop for the lives of the people who work at and live in amoca. It is also a challenge to contribute to the grand design of Nishi Awakura beyond the site.