We wished to situate a restaurant upon a tranquil sea, yet there would hardly be any need or feasibility in floating it upon the ocean. Instead, we asked where is such a sea of tranquillity most needed? Where human’s lives are most chaotic and where one is most removed from nature. Roppongi, in the heart of Tokyo, with its overwhelming density may seem the farthest point from an escape to natural serenity. But this is precisely why we chose to site our building there, or more specifically, far above it.

We chose the roof of the new Tokyo Midtown Development, designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, as the ideal location for our Restaurant on the Water. Roofs are designed to be waterproof. Therefore, we did not think it unreasonable to propose covering the entire roof with a shallow layer of water. As the Midtown Development is to be Tokyo’s tallest building, it will be the only location to site the restaurant where no other structure is visible. The effect of the water and sky converging with no apparent interruption is deeply meditative. It presents an unlimited spatial expanse. The citizens of Tokyo will have a place to escape from the city within the city and to detach their thoughts and interactions from its artificial complexity. The only object visible from that point is Mt. Fuji.

The most important criterion of our design is that the view out is given absolute precedent. The most secluded areas are within the　ozashiki . In order to feel absolute solitude, diners within these translucent glass chambers should not be able to see into any other area of the restaurant. Here, architecture is little more that a frame for the ever changing view. Vertical walls are tilted and skewed to energize the tension between them and the perfect horizontality of water and sky touching. This also gives complete variety to the interiors of the ozashiki and visiting each one will offer a unique experience. Floors and tables are aligned with the surface of the water so as to achieve continuity between interior and exterior and to make diners feel as though they are actually upon the water.

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