Architecture studio Unemori Architects has built the Sukagawa Community Center in Fukushima as part of the wider rejuvenation of the city after the 2011 T?hoku earthquake.
Created in collaboration with Ishimoto Architectural & Engineering Firm, the community centre was designed to be a space that demonstrates the revitalisation of the city.
"It was important to us to give courage to the disaster-stricken city by showing that the residents of the city have a place here at Sukagawa Community Center to stay, work, learn and meet," Unemori Architects founder Hiroyuki Unemori told Dezeen.
"Our goal was to create a building that would fit seamlessly into the city."
Top: steel panels wrap around the exterior of the building. Above: the building is comprised of a series of stacked floors plates The five-storey Sukagawa Community Center houses libraries, a museum, a lecture hall, childcare centres and cafes.
It was created as a "public forum" and also has a number of spaces for socialising and studying. Interior and exterior terraces surround the building, which has a total floor area of 13,700 square metres.
The lobby of the building is located beneath a series of voids and layered floors
The community centre was built to help revitalise the city, which was badly hit by the 2011 T?hoku earthquake, which was the country's most powerful recorder earthquake and destroyed major parts of eastern Japan.
It was designed to be earthquake-proof and will be...