Rethinking the Flat Datum: Designing Space with Incline and Intent

Historically, architecture and the built environment have insisted on creating flat, hard surfaces. In earlier eras, walking without paved ground meant mud-caked shoes, uneven footing, tripping hazards, standing water after rain, and high maintenance. Hence, as we shaped cities, we prioritized a smooth, continuous, solid horizontal datum. The benefits are real: easier walking, simpler cleaning, and straightforward programming—furniture, equipment, and partitions all prefer a level base. This universal preference for building on flat ground remains the norm and, for many practical reasons, will likely continue to be.

Shueisha TOON FACTORY is a creative company mainly engaged in manga and WEBTOON businesses. For this expansion project, one floor of a tenant building stretching from east to west was targeted for planning.

Mahogany House is defined by the owners' quest to create a comfortable, multi-generational home within an efficient floorplate. This house is a family abode for Vish and Gaurav Rajadhyax, who co-founded R ARCHITECTURE, an architecture and interior design practice that embodies their passion for bringing great design to suburban contexts.

A rest stop for bicyclists, with café and floating canopies within native woodland—blending architecture, art, and ecology. Floating Canopy Grove is an architectural intervention in the forest—an ensemble of small public structures that bring together architecture, art, and nature to create a place of pause and reflection for bicyclists.