The city of Fujiyoshida in Japan sits at the foot of Mount Fuji with hilly terrains as its panoramic backdrop. Here, the 10,000-square-metre site of this nursery is lush with trees and lakes. This led the owner to have an educational philosophy of “play to the fullest in the nature of Fujiyoshida—in rain or snow, […]
Read More… from ‘Cabin’ in the forest: UB Kindergarten and Nursery
Amidst the barrage of virtual commerce, physical spaces have been offering increasingly personal and meaningful spatial experiences. This renovation of Tamagawa Takashimaya, a fifty-year-old shopping centre, transforms its spacious atrium into a cross between a library and an art gallery. It is designed as an intimate enclave that resembles a park in some places and […]
Read More… from Lights, books and greenery at Tamagawa Takashimaya Grand Patio
This small two-storey, wood-frame house is tucked into a downtown residential neighbourhood in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The clients—a couple with minimalist taste and few superfluous possessions—wanted a private home on the compact lot, one that prioritised a spacious atmosphere over rooms that were physically large. The lot abuts the north side of a narrow road and […]
In Hokkaido Prefecture—the northernmost region of Japan—this hotel was designed as the first hybrid high-rise timber structure of its kind, aiming to reduce use of emission-heavy concrete and place a spotlight on the local wood industry. Beyond simply providing accommodation, the hotel makes a space that welcomes the community, showcases local talent and facilitates an […]
Read More… from Japan’s first hybrid timber high-rise hotel: Royal Park Canvas Sapporo Odori Park
In an era when online shopping is increasingly common, this eyewear store in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture rethinks the retail experience to offer something more than a usual commercial space. The nature of suburban shops is to be visited via car by customers with a particular goal in mind, as opposed to downtown retail where […]
Read More… from JINS PARK Maebashi: A fresh vision for suburban retail
Located in the heart of Tokyo, the Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome district is seen as a significant area of the city, one that provides key infrastructural services and is home to a hotel seen as the nation’s state guesthouse. Plans for its development have been underway since 2011 when the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Chiyoda City and the […]
Read More… from A ‘citizen co-creation’ model for Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome District Development
Known for the Art Tower Mito designed by Arata Isozaki, the city of Mito will be getting a new civic centre, a complex planned for a site adjacent to the tower. While the Art Tower is a complex of galleries and small halls, each dedicated to art, music or theatre—the new multipurpose centre, with its […]
This is a proposal for the new business school within Nanyang Technological University’s lush garden campus. The building is laid out on-site in a gently curved form, with abundant greenery and waterscape introduced into the site to reunite with its surroundings. The building has approximately 40,000 square metres of floor area, running 210 metres long, […]
Read More… from Academic Building South in Nanyang Technological University
This was a single-storeyed house of concrete built on a site a few kilometres away from Shinjuku, the biggest downtown in Tokyo. The name of the house White U came from its horseshoe-shaped plan within a pair of U-shaped walls and its interior filled with spaces of pure white. The peripheral walls had practically no […]
The Sendai Mediatheque stands along Jozenji street, a main avenue famous for its stately rows of Zelkova trees. Completed in August 2000, five and a half years after the open competition held by Sendai City, this project rises eight storeys from ground level with 21,600 square metres in total floor space. Thirteen tree-like Tube elements […]
‘Minna no Mori’ Gifu Media Cosmos is a library complex that opened in July 2015. The site has a symbolic view of the city: Mount Kinka with Gifu Castle on its top. It is located 2 kilometres north from JR Gifu Station and has abundant subsoil water from Nagara River. In order to create a […]
Two things would immediately catch one’s attention upon seeing this project. Its unusual form—at least for a residence—and its façade material. The owners—who are also the architects—wanted the architecture to last beyond its current use and even occupants. “We designed our own residence and office on a narrow lot in the heart of the city […]
