Kengo Kuma and Associates has designed a wooden roof for the the student hub of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, which comprises steeped greenery and bleachers that “invites life and activity for the students”, according to the Japanese architecture studio.
Named Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza, the wooden bleachers is designed to be a “roof silhouette that resembles the landscape of a river delta that spills into the campus”. It is positioned at the entrance of the university, and according to Dezeen, Kengo Kuma hopes it will become a campus landmark.
“This building stands near the main gate of Tokyo Tech and is a new landmark of the campus,” explained the architect-in-charge Toshiki Meijo to Dezeen. “The idea was to make the building look like a landform in order to harmonise it with the slopes scattered around the campus and the surrounding buildings.”
The bulk of the Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza is hidden underground, disguised by the wooden bleachers over it. Other parts of the building that are visible above ground are kept minimal with a glazed or white-painted finish. The decision to build most of the building underground was to maintain a “clear vista” of the university’s clock tower, which is a landmark for the campus.
Founded in 1990 by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, Kengo Kuma and Associates has designed various architecture projects across the world, including wooden structures such as Toho Gakuen Munetsugu Hall, and morinos, an educational facility in Gifu, Japan.
Source: Dezeen
