A sloped roof lined with wooden bleachers and plants conceals the student hub that Japanese studio Kengo Kuma and Associates has created for the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Named the Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza, the building sits partially below ground and is intended to emulate a landform or river delta "that spills into the campus" of the Japanese university.
Kengo Kuma and Associates has designed a student hub for Tokyo Tech
Kengo Kuma and Associates designed the building to support student interaction, incorporating spaces for co-learning, workshops and support services.
Positioned at the main entrance to the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), the studio hopes that it will become a campus landmark.
The building is partly submerged underground "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.
"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," Meijo told Dezeen.
The roof is covered in bleachers that double as steps
Inside, the Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza contains three storeys above ground and two below.
However, the bulk of the building is positioned underground, disguised by the wooden bleachers that cascade over it. The other parts of the building that are visible above ground are kept minimal with a glazed or white-painted finis...