A roof terrace for the R&D offices of an IT company. The roof terrace is divided into two distinct zones, a Japanese inspired garden on one side and a more Northern European landscape on the other. For the Japanese garden we used the checkerboard motif loosely based on the Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto. The programme also asked for a sauna. Our initial idea was to place this on the northern European side of the roof garden, building a brick structure that would house the sauna, showers and changing rooms. Due to building restrictions the sauna was build inside of the main building. All the hardwood used was ecologically sourced and left untreated to match the greyish colour scheme of the exterior of the existing building.  

Keywords: Japan, Floating Garden, Japan Sauna, Checkerboard Garden, R&D Office.