Tokyo-based studio Klein Dytham Architecture has wrapped the Karuizawa Commongrounds Bookstore in Nagano with an undulating steel roof resembling "outstretched arms".
Located at the foot of Mount Asama, the space was designed by Klein Dytham Architecture to be a community hub for the local residents. It sits at the centre of a larger complex comprised of five neighbouring buildings that include a delicatessen, restaurant and pre-school.
Named Karuizawa Commongrounds Bookstore, the 495-square-metre bookstore is an extension of a two-storey building previously used as a seminar house by Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University.
An existing structure is wrapped by a curved glass extension
In order to expand the existing space, the studio wrapped the building's lower half with a curved glass extension that follows the curvature of its undulating steel roof. "The new flowing roof responds to the landscape around the building, with its curves embracing the woods, the kids' garden, and newly planted areas," studio partner Mark Dytham told Dezeen.
"The eaves feel like outstretched arms, welcoming people from wherever you approach the building," he added.
Concave eaves shelter an external terrace
Sat on a concrete foundation, the structure is carefully nestled into the woodland landscape and accessible via weaving paths that lead up to the entrance and connect it to the neighbouring buildings.
Concave wooden eaves designed to "evoke the highland terrain&qu...