Boxing Club.

FT Architects / Hachioji, JP / 2013

The Boxing Club is a boxing gym designed for Kogakuin University’s athletic campus in the western suburbs of Tokyo. Its austere exterior belies a vaulted interior structure made with extended wood columns referencing traditional Japanese timber construction. Tensioned rods are bolted at each end and squeeze the cantilevered beams to keep them in compression. The rectangular floor plan is predicated on the dimensions of a boxing ring. Translucent corrugated plastic covers the end facades, creating a jewel-box effect at night that allows the interior lighting to silhouette the wooden structure against the exterior. The vault created by this system is extruded linearly over the ring to establish an introspective space that coddles athletes in the heat of their sport.

POLYPROPYLENE SHEETS ON N AND S FACADES ADMIT DIFFUSE SUNLIGHT AND ESTABLISH AESTHETIC IDENTITY

FULL-LENGTH SPARS ABSORB LONGITUDINAL LOADS

BOXING RING DIMENSIONS GOVERN ENCLOSURE SIZE

INSULATED ROOF AND WALL PANELS FORM MOISTURE AND THERMAL BARRIER

MECHANICAL FASTENERS ECHO TRADITIONAL METHODS AND ARE SUSTAINABLE

TENSIONED RODS HOLD WOOD MEMBERS IN COMPRESSION FOR LATERAL LOADS

BUILDING ORIENTATION MITIGATES HARSH DIRECT SUNLIGHT