SO&CO has slotted a skinny office building into an alley between two buildings in Tokyo, Japan, which contains five tiny concrete workspaces.

So Teruuchi from Tokyo-based firm SO&CO designed a tiny tower only 2.7 meters wide. The shrunk structure serves as an entrance block from the street, that links to a rear building for commercial use. Located in the narrow alleys of Ginza, Tokyo, the idea was to give some visibility to a building that otherwise would have been hidden on the back: a contemporary bell tower that called for attention. Instead of bells, here we have a roof terrace open to the city.

It has a smooth, concrete façade that is unassuming due to its size and simplicity, yet bold in its divergence from the more conventional and drab buildings that surround the office. It can’t be missed, an ironic consequence that is characteristic of the prevalent compact dwellings scattered across the Japanese metropolis.

“From the main streets in Ginza, there are uncountable alleys that radically differ from the idea people usually have of this area – transparent facades and fashionable – and are mainly composed by solid and unattractive buildings,” explained the studio’s founder, So Teruuchi.