This project began from the client’s wish to create a facility to provide a range of amenities for tourists visiting the nearby Matsumoto Castle—which is listed as a National Treasure of Japan—while also helping to revitalize that part of Matsumoto City. The first and second floors house a café and multi-purpose gallery, respectively, while the third and fourth floors contain leased offices. The fifth floor serves as the property owner’s office. Despite a 29.4m-height zoning restriction, high ceilings were achieved, and the reinforced-concrete walls and steel-column hybrid structure along with flat slabs provide highly flexible spaces unimpeded by internal columns. By powerfully expressing the structure in monotone, the exterior pays homage to Matsumoto Castle’s distinctive black coloration. In contrast, the café interior uses wood in a warm Scandinavian Modern style, while visitors enjoy the works of three artists.