Photo by: ©Shigeo Ogawa

The building serves both as high school classrooms and a library.

Designed in collaboration with Yoshiyuki Kawazoe (Associate Professor, Spatial Design, University of Tokyo).

The library and advanced classes building needed to be rebuilt, but not only were the buildings aging, the low usage rate of the library itself was also a problem. We wondered if we could create an environment where the library and classrooms could be used together, and where there were always books available for learning.

In this building, the classrooms have been demolished and are now located behind the bookshelves.

The wall columns, stacked like a Trump Tower, create a continuous space with various sizes of hangout areas. The library is a space for all high school students, and is not only a quiet reading space but also a place for group work, meetings, exhibitions, and other dynamic activities. The semi-outdoor space, including a terrace that freely juts out into the plaza, a rooftop that can be used for club activities, and pilotis, allows the sea breeze of Shonan to blow through.

We aim to create a learning environment that is like a large perch, supporting the diverse activities of high school students.