Permanent’s Hashima office crowned by soaring metal roof

This article explores a distinctive rural workspace in Hashima, Japan. The office was designed by architecture studios Permanent and Atelier Nagara for a local real estate and civil engineering company.

Nestled among rice fields, the project rethinks what an office can be in an agricultural context. It creates a workplace that is closely connected to its landscape, climate, and local building culture.

A Rural Office That Belongs to the Landscape

Office in Hashima is not a conventional commercial building imposed on a rural site. It has been carefully designed to harmonize with its surroundings.

Set amid expanses of rice fields, the architecture avoids dominating the landscape. The building uses a low, elongated form that visually “sits” within the agricultural horizon.

Offices are now expected to deliver not only functionality and efficiency, but also a sense of place and environmental responsiveness. In Hashima, that sense of place is grounded in the rhythms of the fields and the changing seasons.

A Roof Inspired by Swaying Rice Crops

The building’s most distinctive feature is its steeply pitched roof. The gently undulating eaves recall rice crops swaying in the wind.

Instead of a single straight edge, the eaves rise and fall, giving the building a dynamic yet quiet presence. Clad in standing-seam metal, the roof captures and reflects the changing light and sky.

This reflective quality acts as a visual barometer of the environment. It continually ties the building back to the surrounding fields and weather patterns.

Referencing Agricultural Architecture

The roof’s form and material reference agricultural sheds and barns found in rural Japan. By using this familiar language, the office feels like a contemporary evolution of local farm architecture.

This approach creates a sense of continuity with the site’s history. It also meets the needs of a modern engineering office.

Landscaped Garden and Veranda as Threshold

At the southern edge of the site, the architects have set the building back to create a landscaped forecourt. This garden, with gravel paths, trees, and rocks, acts as a buffer between road, fields, and workplace.

Overlooking this outdoor space is a generous veranda. The veranda is sheltered beneath large curved eaves supported by slender steel columns.

This creates a light, floating canopy that provides shade and shelter. It is a semi-outdoor gathering space where staff can pause, meet, or observe the landscape.

Engawa-Inspired Transitional Space

The project draws on the Japanese tradition of the engawa—the zone between inside and outside found in vernacular housing. Here, that idea is reinterpreted for a modern office.

This transitional strip is finished in blackened timber and lined with sliding glass doors. It creates a buffered edge that mediates climate, light, and privacy.

The engawa-like space allows the building to adapt with the seasons. It offers varying degrees of openness while maintaining a strong visual link to the fields.

Interior Workspace Under a Sloping Ceiling

Inside, the main workspace sits beneath the shallower northern slope of the roof. Above rows of desks, a sloping ceiling echoes the external profile, giving staff a sense of the building’s structure and orientation.

The interior palette is simple and tactile:

The floor finish continues into adjacent outdoor areas around planting beds. This visually dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior and reinforces the building’s connection to its site.

An Architectural “Apparatus” for Wind, Light and History

The architects describe Office in Hashima as an “apparatus”—a device that responds to wind, light and the site’s agricultural history. This approach creates a comfortable workplace that encourages people to return.

This language is telling. The building is not treated as an isolated object, but as an active mediator between natural forces and human occupation.

For architecture and engineering practitioners, the project offers a valuable precedent in:

 
Here is the source article for this story: Soaring metal roof tops Office in Hashima by Permanent