In Kyobashi, the historic downtown area of Osaka, Japan, designer Yasunari Tsukada is playing with time and landscape. The commission to design the new ‘Ajax salon’ demanded a sunlit space that obscured the exterior cityscape as well as a calming environment that was unique and distinguishable. In response to this program, the large-windowed multi-tenant space was outfitted with an aluminium-clad iron box that nestled into the existing skeleton of the building.

The aluminum paneling gently obscured the landscape with a patterning of three types of round holes. In addition to allowing columns of light to pervade the space, these holes serve various practical functions of the salon including the fixtures for lights and hair dryers. Most strikingly, this ‘nest-like’ box changes throughout the day. The quiet morning light gently tumbles through the the space, while the sunset becomes a radiant event. At night the dark-light relationship reverses and the salon emits a yellow glow from within.

http://www.designboom.com/architecture/yasunari-tsukada-design-ajax-salon/