Roopt has many appealing features, and one of them is "renovation." Makigumi Inc., which operates Roopt, specializes in renovating vacant houses, and Roopt is filled with the techniques that Makigumi has cultivated.
When we explain the renovation ingenuity to prospective tenants, many get excited, so we thought, "Let's put it in an article and share it with more people!" Thus, we've created an article explaining Roopt's renovation. We hope you'll discover even more charm in Roopt Shiogama Kaigandori through the explanation by Makigumi PR's Hiratsuka. *Presented in an interview format by editor/writer Takashi Tsunoda
Roopt Shiogama Kaigandori is a four-story share house located about 30 minutes by train or car from Sendai Station, and a 1-minute walk from Hon-Shiogama Station on the JR Senseki Line. The second floor has a common space and rooms for vacation rentals, while the third and fourth floors have a total of five private rooms (Rooms A-E) for share house residents. With bookshelves that utilize the height differences of the stairs, a tricolor painted ceiling, and tatami mats from renovation waste embedded in the walls, it's a place where you can experience Shiogama's "artistic" atmosphere.
—First, please tell us about the overall theme!
Shiogama City, where Roopt Shiogama Kaigandori is located, is one of Miyagi's leading port towns and a city rich in history, with places like Shiogama Shrine. We've incorporated various elements throughout the property to allow residents to experience this. Also, Roopt Shiogama Kaigandori's theme is "renovation without waste," meaning we try to utilize as much of the scrap materials from the renovation as possible instead of discarding them.
—That's a sustainable initiative.
Yes, it is. I'll explain it later, but we've made some interesting uses, so please look forward to it.
Roopt Shiogama Kaigandori utilizes the 2nd to 4th floors of a four-story residence as a share house. It's the triangular building you see immediately to your left when you exit Hon-Shiogama Station.
—As it says on the website, it really is right in front of the station.
Yes, it's a 1-minute walk! You'll appreciate how close it is to the station even more once you're inside the share house.
(Hiratsuka waving in front of the share house. Can you see her?)
It's a bit hard to find, but if you walk left from the station, you'll see Uotami, and it's across from that. When you come for an event or a viewing, Uotami is a good landmark.
(View of the 1st floor. You go up the stairs to enter the share house.)
—We've finally entered the share house. The second floor is a community space, right?
That's right! The second floor is a shared living room with a kitchen, bath, and toilet. There's also a vacation rental room at the back of the living room, so residents can use it when they want to invite friends over.
—It's great that you can stay for just one night! Looking at the living room, I got an overall impression of "red." Is there a meaning behind this?
Shiogama Shrine is a 10-minute walk from here, and since the shrine's torii gate is red, we decided on the color based on that. The red paint from the entrance to the vacation rental room is inspired by the approach to the shrine, and the joints (meji: joints inserted to fill gaps between materials) in the ceiling and floor are also the same red to create a sense of unity.
By the way, in architectural terms, this is called "mesukashi" (recessed joint), but this mesukashi method is usually applied to ceilings. The architect from Makigumi who was in charge of this share house ingeniously applied it to the floor as well.
—Visiting Shiogama Shrine would probably make the meaning of this ingenuity even clearer. Next is the kitchen, but the wall is... what's going on?
We've pasted tatami mats and fusuma (sliding doors) on the wall, which you don't see very often, do you? This is one example of our "renovation without waste." During the renovation process, we had tatami mats and fusuma that were going to be discarded. It felt wasteful to just throw them away, so we decided to use them for something and brought them to the kitchen on the second floor. By the way, which tatami mats and fusuma we used is a surprise for later.
—By utilizing things instead of discarding them, you can create such interesting spaces.
And one more thing. Don't you think the kitchen looks unusually rugged? It was originally a cupboard, and it was a top and bottom set with the counter table in the living room. We split it into two and installed a new sink, transforming it into a kitchen!
—You're renovating not just houses but even furniture! Next is the vacation rental room.
This is a room for vacation rentals, and you can stay here even if you're not a resident. We welcome trial stays and short trips.
—I was curious about the space on the left.
This was originally a closet. We removed the fusuma and the wooden middle shelf (the board that divides the storage into upper and lower sections) and put in a desk and a sofa. If you look closely, you can still see the fusuma rails, so you can tell it used to be a closet.
—Indeed, for a share house or vacation rental, storage isn't as necessary, so removing it to expand the living space is a good idea. Please tell me briefly about the other parts of the second floor too!
We've incorporated a "Japanese" aesthetic throughout the entire share house, not just on the second floor. The rope used in the changing room light and the washbasin is one example of this. We put a lot of effort into these small details, so we really want people who visit the share house to look around thoroughly.
(Changing room light. Renovated to illuminate two spots with one power source.)
—The second floor alone had so many highlights. Now, let's move on to the private rooms, starting with the third floor!
The third floor has three rooms: A, B, and C.
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