A woven story of towns, people and the word "ikeru" How to create a Sasu-style satellite office
- How the Kamiyama Satellite Office was Built, Part 2 -

Monosus' fourth base, the Kamiyama Satellite Office, was completed in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, in November last year. In the first part , we looked back on our encounter with Kamiyama, why we decided to build a satellite office there, and introduced how we decided on the office concept. In the second part, we will tell you how the office was actually built.

There were many obstacles, big and small, in the process of building the office, including unexpected events, budgetary issues, and construction delays. However, it seems that the fact that they decided and handled each and every one of these things themselves strengthened their feelings about the "place" that is the Kamiyama Satellite Office. In this article, we will introduce the process leading up to the completion of the office, which could not have been achieved without the cooperation of many people.

Once the concept was decided, it was time to start concretely designing a satellite office, but the road ahead was fraught with difficulties

The concept of the office decided by the three people (Kurihara, Takeda, Maruyama) who were selected as the satellite office committee in December 2015 was "a place to expand one's horizons." To decide what kind of place it should be, they collected various images from magazines and the Internet to expand their image.

The image is somewhere between Japanese and Western, with a white base. We want the first floor to be a space where people from outside can easily enter, and the second floor to be a space where people can concentrate on their work. We put together a lot of ideas among the committee members, such as placing desks facing the wall so people can concentrate on their work, and desks where people can work facing each other.

In May 2016, the office committee went to Kamiyama and discussed their ideas with the architect at the actual site.

Left: Takeda, a member of the office committee, discussing the ideas
Right: Before renovation

"You can do it," he said, encouraging me to DIY the design together with the carpenter.

As we discussed with the architect and gradually turned our image into concrete reality, construction was about to begin when various circumstances caused the project to be postponed.

Furthermore, the architect was unable to meet the schedule due to delays in construction, and was unable to participate in the construction. Although the architect had prepared blueprints, the details, such as the earthquake-resistant design that takes into account safety and earthquake resistance, the location of the toilets and shower rooms, the layout of electrical outlets, the size of the desks, the location of the shelves, etc., had not yet been designed.

At this stage, it was difficult to hire another architect due to time and budget constraints. Normally, the architect would give instructions to the carpenters and manage the process, but now they had to do it themselves. Kurihara, who was staying in Kamiyama as the head of the second term of the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku , took on that role.

However, this is a building project that is not his area of expertise. He vaguely understands that there is a lot to do, but where should he start? How should he move forward to complete it? He says he was worried, "Can an amateur like me really do it?" Worried, Kurihara decided to consult with Ooya Toshiki of Ooya Construction, a carpenter in Kamiyama Town who he had asked to carry out the renovation, about the situation.

So, I asked my landlord to look at the intermediate design plans, and he said the reassuring "It's totally possible, let's do it together."

Normally, it would have been natural for him to say "It's not possible," but instead he was encouraged by the words, "You can do it." Supported by these words, Kurihara and the carpenter landlord simultaneously worked on the design, planning, and construction, and the journey to completing a lively office began.

"My landlord's words, 'You can do it,' were really encouraging. Even though we had a small budget, he listened to my request that the screen doors be installed absolutely, and we were really grateful for his help," says Kurihara, reflecting on the office renovation.

Based on this blueprint, the renovation work will proceed through communication between Kurihara and the landlord.

There isn't enough budget...
DIY money management

But further, new problems arise.

After much discussion with the landlord, we recalculated the estimate and found that it was significantly higher than the estimate the architect had originally given us. The original budget didn't allow for the addition of a shower or a toilet...

How did you overcome this predicament?

"At first, I almost gave up on turning on the shower. I also couldn't figure out the rest of the process, and I kept forgetting this and that.
However, since we had to build within a budget, we reconsidered the materials and how we would use the fixtures.

For example, we reduced the thickness of the cedar boards on the floor and shelves from 5cm to 3cm, and we reduced the shelves from two levels to one level. We had originally thought of using iron legs for the desks, but this was difficult within the budget, so we went with wood. But I think it turned out well in the end. We also got the plaster to paint the walls for cheap from a plasterer..."

By carefully reviewing the design and materials, and reconsidering the budget within the company, it was finally possible to install a shower and a toilet. By making efforts such as using doors, window fittings, and lighting that were donated, the effect was better than expected. On the other hand, by being particular about the parts that could not be compromised, such as the front entrance door, they were able to decide where to spend money and where to cut back.

The toilet door (top left), the atmospheric lighting (top right), and the window in the small conference room that I'm a little proud of! (bottom) The hinges are only on the top, so you need to put a stopper underneath to open it. We used a window frame that our landlord, a carpenter, found at a demolition site.

Construction is finally underway! How we all worked together to build the Kamiyama satellite office

1. Dismantling

With the budget and other details decided, we finally got to work. First, we started with the demolition work. Three members of the satellite office committee tried to dismantle it once, but the actual demolition was carried out by the carpenters, the second batch of students from the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku who had gathered at Kurihara's invitation, and Kurihara himself.

They used a large hammer to break down the mud walls, removed the tatami mats, used a crowbar to take out the floorboards, and dismantled the closet. They removed the original Goemon bath and destroyed the roof of the bathroom. It was hard work, covered in dust and wearing work masks.

The interior of what was originally a private home

Use a crowbar to dismantle a large shelf

Destroy the earthen wall with a big hammer

The bath was also removed

The floorboards were removed to make the entire first floor flat.

The first floor with the mud walls removed. The pillars and beams are visible, and the framework is clearly visible.

A truck loaded with piles of waste materials from a demolition project

The waste materials from the demolition were not all disposed of, but were buried under the floor with concrete, in an effort to reduce waste.

The dismantling work took a whole day, from morning to evening. Kurihara prepared a bibimbap lunch from the local yakiniku restaurant "Umeri" to give everyone some stamina. With the power of yakiniku, the work in the afternoon progressed steadily. The Ramune candy given by the carpenter's landlord was especially delicious for the sweaty bodies.

For the students, this was an experience they had never had before in their lives. They were exhausted, but it was a valuable experience, with some saying things like, "It was fun breaking down the mud walls," and "It was good to learn how a house is built and what the structure is."

2. Assembly

After the dismantling work was completed, we left the reassembly to the professionals, our landlord, a carpenter.
On the first floor, work includes pouring concrete for the floor, removing unnecessary pillars, and reinforcing beams.
The second floor is fitted with flooring made from cedar, a specialty of Kamiyama, and has built-in desks made from cedar. Windows were also installed in the small conference room at the back of the first floor.

The concrete is poured and new beams are installed.

In addition, Kurihara and the landlord continued to discuss any details of the design that had not been finalized. For example, the entrance door, which is the face of the office, was something they wanted to pay particular attention to, so they communicated their image in detail, and the landlord drew a rough sketch so that they could make sure their understanding was correct.
Other than that, we changed the locations of the toilets and showers, and also decided on the height of the desks and shelves, the location of the sinks and lighting, the location of power outlets, how to finish the small conference rooms, and so on, all of which were decided on the spot in a sort of agile way as we discussed the construction process.

A desk in the middle of construction, as it was being assembled through discussion

3. Plastering

Once most of the assembly work is completed, the final step is to plaster all of the walls of the house.
Normally we would have asked a plasterer to do it, but we decided to do it ourselves.

Plaster is a building material whose main component is lime. It is mixed thoroughly with water in a mixer and then applied thinly to the wall with a trowel. However, I am still an amateur. Before working on the first floor, which is more likely to be seen by locals and customers, I decided to start by working on the second floor as a way to practice.
We started plastering in the latter half of October, but the target date for completion is November 11th, the day of the Monosus anniversary party, so there's not much time!

At first, Kurihara was the only one applying the plaster. After his cram school lectures finished at 5 p.m., he would head straight to the satellite office and work until late into the night. Once plaster is dissolved in water, it will harden if it is not used up. Therefore, in order to avoid waste, he could not finish until all the plaster was used up. It seems that the work sometimes went on into the night.

Seeing Kurihara's condition, the landlord, a carpenter, decided to help out. Even though plastering is not his main job, he cooperated because "I've been on that ship before." During the day he worked as a carpenter in the satellite office, and at night he accompanied Kurihara to plastering. I'm truly grateful.

Shikkui is a building material whose main component is lime. It is mixed thoroughly with water and applied to the wall. If left unattended, it will harden, so it is necessary to use the mixture on the same day.

After his class, Kurihara plasters the second floor. In order to use up all the plaster he mixed, he would sometimes work late into the night.

However, they still couldn't finish the work on weekdays alone, so they decided to work on weekends as well. However, there was a limit to how much work Kurihara and the landlord could do on their own. So they again reached out to the students of the school and Kamiyama , and also recruited collaborators on social media, and about 10 people worked on the weekends.
We started to run out of plaster midway through the project, so we got some cheap plaster from people we knew in the neighborhood and borrowed a trowel. We got help from a lot of people outside of the actual work, and the plastering progressed.

A social media post by Kurihara thanking those who helped and calling for participation next time

The landlord of Uoya Construction Co., Ltd. provided us with a great deal of support in the completion of the Kamiyama Satellite Office, both tangible and intangible, from planning, design, and procuring fixtures to plastering.

The exterior was painted at the same time as the plastering.

The photo on the right shows how we applied special tape to the gaps on the left and then painted the plaster on top of it. When we do things ourselves, there are bound to be some unevenness, but that's part of the charm.

On the weekend, we listened to music to keep the work lively.

Plastering is a seemingly easy task of applying plaster to a wall with a trowel, but it is actually a job that requires the assistance of a craftsman. It is actually very difficult to apply the plaster evenly, as it requires adjusting the amount of water and the plaster can dry out while applying, resulting in unevenness.
A plasterer, unable to bear the sight of the workers, taught them how to paint along the way, and some of the members made remarkable progress. They worked for three consecutive weeks, including on weekends, and the plastering was successfully completed. The day they finished painting all the walls may have been the day they began to feel like it was "their own office."

4. Completion

Then, on November 11th, the satellite office opened.
In the evening, after the lectures, the students gathered together to clean the office floor. They splashed water on the floor and rubbed off the plaster with sandpaper and metal brushes, then wiped it down with a rag, and the floor was finally clean!

The plaster on the walls has completely dried, and the floor has been wiped clean. This is the small conference room at the back of the first floor.

Commemorative photo taken to celebrate the completion

Even though we opened, there was still a lot to do. We applied beeswax to the wooden desks and floors, installed a septic tank, and took a training course. We still had to decide how to use the satellite office and create rules.

It has been a month and a half since the new Kamiyama Operations Team began work. In order to deepen ties with the locals, they are currently conducting their daily work on the first floor. In the future, the space will continue to evolve with the ideas and ingenuity of its users, and will no doubt become a place where many memories are made.

A satellite office completed through connections with the town and its people. The starting point for a place that broadens your horizons

This satellite office DIY. There were many obstacles along the way, but we overcame them successfully and created a bright, open office.

The second floor has comfortable cedar flooring

Finally, we asked Kurihara, who was the central figure in this DIY project, about what he noticed through creating the office.

"When I first decided to do it myself, I honestly wondered, 'Who on earth is going to do it?' But when I finished, I realized I had developed an attachment to this place. I'm glad that we were able to apply the plaster and other things ourselves. I also learned the importance of planning. There were many times when I didn't know what the next step was, and then I would find out about it at the last minute and have to prepare in a hurry, which was difficult."

At first, Kurihara was driven only by a sense of mission: to "complete the satellite office." However, gradually he was able to "have fun" working with the people who helped him with the project.

It seems that we were able to build a good relationship with the landlord, the carpenter who helped us with the construction, and by the time the work was completed, the landlord's frequent use of the phrase "It can be done", a phrase often used by people from Kamiyama, while working had become a catchphrase.

This time, we did a DIY project using Monosasuki. What was different from previous projects was that we got help from many people outside the company, including our landlord, who is a carpenter.
We borrowed trowels to help complete the office, asked for help with plastering, and received various items... People who stopped by to support us were also there to show their support.

As he ran around because there were so many things he didn't understand, Kurihara realized that the office design, which he had only felt a sense of responsibility for as a job, had become something that transcended work and was not just someone else's concern. This project, which he carried out while deepening his connections with the landlord and the townspeople, also became a way for him to build relationships with the town and create a place.

As a result, Kurihara decided to continue living in Kamiyama even after his work at the cram school finished.

The concept of a satellite office is "a place that broadens your horizons," and Kurihara may be the very first place where the scope of connections between people and places has expanded.

Kurihara takes the initiative to clean the satellite office more diligently than anyone else, showing his love for the office, which he built from scratch.

I wonder how the Monosus staff will use this space in the future, and how the satellite will allow them to interact with the people of Kamiyama. I look forward to watching the changes take place slowly and carefully over time.

If you are in the area, please come and visit us!