Fuji Kindergarten, Tokyo, Japan, by Tezuka Architects. Photo by Katsuhisa Kida.
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has announced Tokyo-based Tezuka Architects? Fuji Kindergarten as the winner of the 2017 Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Tezuka Architects? Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan, was selected by the seven-member jury following site visits to each of the four shortlisted projects. In addition to the Fuji Kindergarten, the finalists include 8 House in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Bjarke Ingels Group; the Melbourne School of Design in Melbourne, Australia, by John Wardle Architects and NADAAA; and the Shobac Campus in Nova Scotia, Canada, by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects. The Prize received submissions from 17 countries across six continents. ?This is a prize that will continue to acknowledge the important work of transformative architecture worldwide and its designers,? said Raymond Moriyama, CC, O.Ont., FRAIC. ?No matter the scale or size of the building, the Prize provides an opportunity to recognize design qualities which make a positive contribution. Society is evolving, we hope, toward more equality and social justice. Architects can provide leadership by creating inspiring buildings in service to a community.?

Moriyama added: ?The four projects shortlisted are all special. Their designers have done extraordinary work, and I can see the passion, intelligence, heart, and hard work which went into them.? 
?What perhaps sets the Fuji Kinde...